Man charged with murder in shooting of Macon mom, wounding of daughter

A 21-year-old has been arrested on a murder charge in the 2019 shooting of a Macon mom as she tried to shield her daughter, police said.

Austin Sharrod Mason was taken into custody in a drainage ditch near his home in the 4300 block of Pinedale Drive after a brief foot chase, Bibb sheriff’s officials said.

Mason fled when he saw Bibb sheriff’s deputies and U.S. marshals for the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force arriving at his home Thursday afternoon.

He’s charged in the killing of 30-year-old Shakema Dickson at her Pio Nono Circle home Nov. 7. Dickson’s 2-year-old daughter was also shot, but the child survived.

Dickson “was holding her 2-year-old infant daughter and tried to protect her” when the shooting happened, according to a sheriff’s office statement.

Mason was being held without bond Friday at the Bibb County jail.

The charges lodged against him include malice murder, aggravated assault and first-degree cruelty to children.

Mason also had warrants for criminal damage to property and simple battery family violence in unrelated cases.

On Nov. 7, a manhunt ensued for another man after Dickson was found dead. But it was later determined that “he was not the person who shot the victims. ... The initial evidence and (the man) fleeing the scene pointed to (him) being the suspect,” according to a sheriff’s office statement.

Anyone with information about the killing is urged to contact the Bibb Sheriff’s Office at 478-751 -7500, or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 8:03 AM.