The Georgia Bureau of Investigation in a May 1 statement announced they had made a second arrest in connection with the December 2023 shooting death of high school student and football player Brandon Smith, 17.
Per WKRC, A’darius Jashawn Williams, 19, was the first suspect to be arrested and charged in connection with Smith’s killing. Authorities said the second suspect, identified as Qua’vion Jakwon Cooper, 17, “aided and abetted” Williams in the alleged crime.
Williams and Cooper were high school football teammates with Smith, and the two suspects even played a state championship game in the deceased teen’s honor just a few days after his shooting death.
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In their initial statement, the GBI said that Smith, a Manchester High School student, was last seen on December 7, 2023, before he was reported missing two days later. An individual later called 911 on December 10, 2023, to report a dead body at the back of a Manchester, Georgia home, authorities said.
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“The body was determined to be Smith and police suspected foul play,” the statement said. “During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Williams shot and killed Smith following an argument in Manchester, Georgia. Williams was booked into the Meriwether County Jail.”
Authorities said Cooper has similarly been charged with “murder, a party to the crime for his role in the shooting death of” Smith.
“During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Cooper aided and abetted A’darious Williams, who shot and killed Smith on December 7, 2023, following an argument in Manchester, Georgia. Cooper was booked into the Meriwether County Jail,” the statement said.
Williams on May 6 ultimately pleaded guilty to malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and weapons possession, 11Alive reported. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
