The reeling community of Commerce, home to a homicide just once every five years, received a small dose of closure Monday morning.
Less than 24 hours after the brutal shooting of a beloved 72-year-old man outside a Hardee’s in the quiet northeast Georgia city, police there announced they had arrested his accused killer.
Xavier Clark, 23, who was declared a person of interest a few hours after Calvin Varnum’s death, was taken into custody late Sunday and faces several charges, including felony murder, Commerce police Chief Kenneth Harmon said.
“It’s good we’re able to know what occurred and who did this horrible thing,” Harmon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, acknowledging that his city’s residents remain shaken by the violence. “We needed this so we can begin to understand and prepare for what’s to come.”
Varnum was a visible fixture in the Jackson County city, located about an hour from downtown Atlanta just off I-85. He was known for getting breakfast at the Hardee’s, where he greeted fellow early risers each morning with a wave and a smile. He was described by his family as having special needs.
“He was just a sweet, harmless guy doing his thing,” Harmon said. “We all knew him.”
On Sunday, Varnum was standing on the sidewalk outside the restaurant at about 7:30 a.m. when Clark allegedly pulled up in a dark blue Dodge Journey. The chief said surveillance footage showed the SUV circle the parking lot and return to where Varnum stood. A short exchange took place and shots were fired, Harmon added.
Varnum was resuscitated, but later died at a Hall County hospital.
“I still don’t fully understand why he (Clark) did this, but it had nothing to do with gang initiation or anything like that,” Harmon said Monday. “It’s very, very infrequent that we see anything like this.”
The chief said the bullets pierced the glass of the restaurant as several patrons were inside, including two kids who witnessed the incident. He noted Clark will also be facing two counts of second-degree cruelty to children.
“Thankfully nobody else was struck,” Harmon added. “I counted it as one of those things where the Lord took care of us.”
At around 11 p.m. Sunday, Clark was located by deputies traveling north in the same vehicle on U.S. 441 in the area of Nicholson, police wrote in a news release Monday afternoon. He was stopped and arrested at Berea Road, about six miles south of Commerce, and then booked into the Jackson County Jail. He is also facing charges of malice murder and aggravated assault.
“I know as a community, we’re glad he’s off the street,” longtime resident Ted Yonce told the AJC. “I hate to see young people get in trouble like that, and I don’t know what caused him to do something to somebody who seemed so helpless.”
A reward leading to an arrest and conviction had reached more than $12,000, but donations were paused once Clark was named a person of interest Sunday night. They are still being collected by Skate A-Rama USA, a local roller skating rink, for Varnum’s funeral expenses.
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Commerce isn’t quite like Mayberry, City Manager James Wascher said, but “it kind of goes back to Mr. Calvin embodying that, you know, being able to get out and wave and say hi. That’s what kind of helped get this case worked through so quickly was the help from the community members, the sharing of information, being able to talk to one another.”
The tight-knit community found strength to hold a vigil Sunday night, which was attended by more than a hundred people. Many shared a wide range of emotions as they gathered on the corner outside the Hardee’s to smile and wave as cars passed by. Some brought along sidewalk chalk to leave messages of support, and attendees spoke of Varnum with tears in their eyes.
“It was the whole community. That’s what was special,” Yonce said of the vigil. “This was a man that touched the hearts of everyone.”
Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said Varnum’s reach went beyond the city limits. She said his kindness impacted “probably everybody” who decided to make a drive through the community.
“I think now the focus needs to be on the legacy that Mr. Calvin has left rather than the person that did this,” she told the AJC. “And I hope nobody will forget Mr. Calvin. He is a staple for that area, and nobody’s ever going to forget him.”
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