Search On For Murder Suspects

By Fraendy Clervaud
WJBF News Channel 6 Reporter
Published: October 2, 2008

Augusta, GA---This is the 21st homicide in Richmond County this year. Authorities spent the day talking to neighbors in the area hoping to get some answers. It’s this overnight murder that’s causing many neighbors to question the safety of part of Royal Street.

Pat, neighbor: “We looked out for one another. If there was a concern in one family we all got concerned.”

Pat used to live here, but says she moved away after things started getting rough. Just a few months ago, this house was boarded up after the owners suspected drug activity. Then, early Thursday morning, 23-year-old Jezreel Hammond was shot and killed during a home invasion. Hammond lived with his grandmother next to the house that was boarded up for drug activity. Pat says this area isn’t what it used to be.

Pat: “You would love to live here. But, things have changed. It’s nothing like it was, twenty years ago, and again, I say there is a concern about the elder people in this neighborhood.”

Investigators spent the morning passing out flyers in the neighborhood hoping to get some leads. At this point, they suspect more than one person was responsible for this murder. Neighbors say there’s a lot of drug trafficking with young people coming in and out, during all times of the night. Some say they knew something like this was going to happen.