Soon after shooting and killing his girlfriend at a Spalding County church, a man is in custody in Mississippi, awaiting extradition to face a murder charge, authorities said.
Deputies said he made a crucial mistake during his getaway that led to his arrest — he kept the victim’s cellphone.
About 9:20 p.m. Saturday, people flagged down a deputy who was performing a traffic stop near Macedonia Baptist Church, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office said. The witnesses said they found a woman’s body in the church’s parking lot after hearing a gunshot.
The victim, 38-year-old Munteshia Brown, was pronounced dead at the scene, which is near Old Atlanta and Baptist Camp roads, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. One witness said he saw a vehicle flee the scene after he heard a gunshot.
Deputies were able to contact Brown’s relatives in Barnesville, and they linked her to her boyfriend, Donald Colquitt, the release said. Deputies also learned that the vehicle seen fleeing the scene was Brown’s car.
The vehicle was flagged as stolen, the release said. Deputies were able to track the car through the victim’s cellphone, which was still in the vehicle. As a result, deputies watched as the car moved through Alabama and into Mississippi.
The sheriff’s office notified the Eupora, Miss., Police Department that the car was moving through its city. Officers found the car at a nearby McDonald’s, where Colquitt was arrested, the release said.
Colquitt was armed with a handgun when he was taken into custody, the release said.
The suspect remained Monday afternoon in the Webster County, Miss., jail. The local sheriff’s office told AJC.com that Colquitt is expected to be extradited to Georgia soon.
The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office said it has obtained an arrest warrant for a murder charge against Colquitt. His mug shot should become available once he’s extradited back to Spalding County.
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Credit: AJC
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