Crime & Safety
Deadly Shooting Of Lithia Springs Man Ruled Self-Defense: Report
The family of a man fatally shot in a car during a gun sale is speaking against the decision of prosecutors in the Douglas Co. case.
LITHIA SPRINGS, GA — Prosecutors say the man accused of fatally shooting a 21-year-old man and driving around with his body in the passenger seat acted in self-defense, WXIA-TV reported Saturday.
The man who acknowledged fatally shooting Malachi Mitchell will not face any charges, much to the dismay of Malachi Mitchell's mother, the news outlet reported.
"We feel as though someone who shoots someone in the back of the head four times has to be held accountable," Kenya Mitchell told WXIA-TV. "That does not sound like self-defense to me."
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The shooting happened on Jan. 29 when the met for the sale of a gun, Douglas County Lt. Col. Tavarreus Pounds said in February. Pounds added the two men, who knew each other, fought over the control of the gun after the sale.
The man, who Pounds said was buying the gun, was accused of grabbing a second gun and fatally shooting Malachi Mitchell.
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Pounds said the man told someone he thought he had been set up and was being followed, leading him to then flee the scene.
Authorities previously said the man was stopped near Thornton Road and Interstate 20, where they said they found Malachi Mitchell's body in the passenger seat. Pounds said the traffic stop was due to the panicked man's erratic driving.
Malachi Mitchell was accused of re-assembling the gun during the sale, and after the then-uneasy man told him to calm down, Malachi Mitchell climbed into the driver's seat, WXIA reported, citing prosecutors.
As Malachi Mitchell reached for the gun that was part of the sale, it left off a shot, prosecutors said, per WXIA. When Malachi Mitchell reached for his waistband, the man retrieved his own gun and shot Malachi Mitchell, WXIA reported.
"My son did not die in vain, and Malachi Mitchell always told me that my superpower was never giving up," Kenya Mitchell, who established an organization to honor her son, said in the WXIA report. "I never give up, so I don't plan to start doing that now."
She is reportedly urging for the Department of Justice to intervene in the case.
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