Tree-trimmers found his body by an abandoned house. His accused killers were 16

Two teenagers were charged with murder Thursday in the shooting death of a Macon man whose body was found beside an abandoned house last summer.

Jaquavius Terrion Moore and Malcolm Bernard Peek, both 17, are accused of shooting and killing Emmanuel Stroud Sr. on June 18, 2017, according to arrest warrants.

Stroud, 57, was reported missing by his daughter June 23.

Almost a week later, his early 2000s model silver Nissan Sentra was found parked at the end of Pershing Avenue, near the Walmart Inc. store on Harrison Road and not far from Log Cabin Drive and Eisenhower Parkway.

A man who called police after finding the car told The Telegraph that the car looked as if it had been "cleaned and dumped."

On July 13, some tree trimmers found Stroud's body beside an abandoned house on Clark Street in the Bloomfield neighborhood.

Moore and Peek were both 16 at the time of Stroud's death.

Moore was spotted in Stroud's Sentra "immediately after Stroud was shot," according to the warrant for his arrest. Moore also admitted shooting Stroud to a witness.

Peek, who turned 17 on Jan. 16, was "a party to the crime," according to the warrant.

Peek lied to police about his involvement but "eventually admitted being with Moore when Moore shot Stroud," the warrant says.

Public information officers for the sheriff’s office told The Telegraph that investigators could not provide any additional details about the arrests late Thursday afternoon.

Peek was booked in the Bibb County jail Thursday afternoon, but Moore had been in jail for about two weeks on other charges.

According to a Jan. 21 release from the sheriff’s office, Moore and an unidentified 16-year-old were “caught attempting to get back into a stolen auto that was used by the suspects” about 1:30 a.m. in the area of Southfork Drive.

Two others spotted entering cars ran into the woods and escaped.

Moore, who also was toting a pistol, was charged with entering an auto, theft by receiving auto, obstruction of police, possessing a gun during a felony, and possession of a gun by someone under 18 years old. The 16-year-old accomplice who was not named was booked in the Macon Regional Youth Detention Center.

The motive for Stroud’s killing remains unclear.

Months after Stroud was killed, his 24-year-old son met the same fate.

Emmanuel Stroud Jr. was shot Sept. 17 at Walmar and Edwina drives. He died at the Medical Center, Navicent Health, six hours after the shooting.

Sheriff David Davis has said the two killings do not appear to be related.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Tree-trimmers found his body by an abandoned house. His accused killers were 16."