Georgia high school football star Elijah DeWitt, 18, was killed last week outside of a Dave & Buster’s entrance at the Sugarloaf Mills Mall, according to reports. Police arrested Kemare Bryan, 18, and Chandler Richardson, 19, in South Carolina last Friday, they have since been extradited to Georgia and charged with felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Bryan and Richardson appeared in court in front of a Gwinnett County magistrate judge and were denied bail on the malice, assault, and possession charges as they are deemed flight risks and dangers to the community. The magistrate judge could not address bail on the felony murder charge as only a superior court judge could grant bail.
DeWitt was on a date with his girlfriend Bailey Reidling when an alleged botched robbery, according to DeWitt’s mother, went wrong. Police are still trying to put the sequence of events together but did say “the suspects and the victim were familiar with each other.”
“When they encountered each other in the parking lot, an altercation took place and then the shooting,” local PD said.
According to Reidling they were having a night of food and games with friends when she and a friend got up to use the restroom. When they returned DeWitt wasn’t at the table, but she figured he and another friend Oscar were playing games. It was then she realized they were outside.
“I run over to Elijah, and he’s on the ground, and I go right over to him, and he mouths to me — the last word he said to me was ‘help,'” Reidling told Fox News Digital. “You’re screaming in the moment because you’re in shock. So, it’s like a scream that you don’t try to do, it’s just coming out. I checked his pulse, and I got freaked out because there is nothing going on there. Some sweet lady came around the corner and said, ‘Baby, he just got shot. Calm down. We called 911. They’re already on their way.'”
DeWitt was a senior star wide receiver at Jefferson High School, where he and Reidling met when he was a freshman and she was a senior.
The Jefferson High School Football program is heartbroken as we mourn the loss of one of our own, Elijah DeWitt. The DeWitt family is in our thoughts and prayers. We appreciate your understanding as we respect the family’s privacy during this time.
The Jefferson High School Football program is heartbroken as we mourn the loss of one of our own, Elijah DeWitt. The DeWitt family is in our thoughts and prayers. We appreciate your understanding as we respect the family’s privacy during this time. pic.twitter.com/9q2l6nujPA
— Jefferson Football (@JeffersonFootba) October 6, 2022
How the alleged altercation began and how well DeWitt knew the suspects is all still very unclear. Reidling said she had heard from friends that DeWitt had met the suspects two days earlier at the same Dave & Busters.
“While investigators do have some information about what caused the shooting, it will likely not be released to protect the integrity of the prosecution,” a Gwinnett County police spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “I don’t have any information on prior criminal records.”
Whatever the alleged altercation was about, unfortunately a gun was present. As we know all too well, the presence of guns generally doesn’t lead to positive outcomes.
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