Shootout leaves four victims, one dead

DULUTH — Gwinnett County Police are investigating a May 11 drug-related quad shooting at Duluth house that has left one man dead and three more hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

The shooting happened shortly after 10 a.m. at a home on Buckingham Place, which is in a quiet neighborhood in unincorporated Duluth. There police found three Hispanic males with gunshot wounds. All are expected to survive their injuries and are in critical, but stable, condition at area hospitals, said police.

A fourth man found in the home, 26-year-old Fermin Aguirre-Garcia of Duluth, is being held at the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act (VGSCA) and possession of cocaine.

The body of 34-year-old Howard Jones of Jacksonville, N.C., was found in a car in front of a store at Gwinnett Place Mall, said police. He was with 32-year-old Shawn Brumfield of Syracuse, N.Y., who was taken into custody at the mall. Police have not said whether Brumfield was a passenger or drove Jones there.

Brumfield is also being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond. He was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a VGCSA.

Police aren't explaining at this time the roles of Aguirre-Garcia or Brumfield in the incident.

Tina Myers, a stay-at-home mother who lives nearby with her six-year-old son, was home when she heard the gunshots.

"It sounded like at least 20 gunshots," said Myers, who has lived in the subdivision for 10 years. "I was in denial at first. But I have been shooting with my uncle, so I know that sound. I had never heard that many gunshots before."

Myers immediately called 911 to asked if they could confirm any reports of gunshots. She said she saw the police taking a man on a stretcher out of the rental home that served as the grisly crime scene.

"My neighbor saw two guys run across her backyard," she said, "and then we saw a guy down in the street with a gunshot wound."

Investigators are on the lookout for other suspects believed to be involved in the shooting. According to a press release sent out by authorities, witnesses said a white van with an unknown number of suspects left the scene. A white van was found abandoned 30 minutes later on Millerbrooke Court, less than five miles away.

Gwinnett police are tight-lipped about the exact motive for the multiple shooting, saying only that it is "drug related."

"At this time I can not specify what was found," said Cpl. Illiana Spellman, a spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Police. "Only that we are certain it was drug-related."

Gwinnett Police said it appears the three men were shot in the home. The gun battle then spilled outside into the driveway, where Jones was shot.

Gwinnett Place Mall, where Jones' body was found, is about three miles from the house where the gun battle began. The van was found about five miles away from the house, but in the opposite direction from the dead man's car.

Police have not released the names of anyone involved in the crime and have not released suspect descriptions for anyone in the white van.

Myers said she lives in a "great neighborhood."

"That's what is so sad about this," she said. "I'm not going to change anything. If anything, it makes me want to be more involved. I've met three of my neighbors today that I have never met. We prayed in the cul-de-sac for the men involved and the officers."

Anyone with information about additional persons/suspects involved in this shooting are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS. Anonymous tips are welcome and could lead to a monetary reward of up to $2,000.

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