Arrest made in early Friday double-homicide in Macon
A Macon man is accused of opening fire on two men and and killing them early Friday.
Anthony Toraild Whitehead, 23, was charged with murder in the double-homicide at 3580 Fair St. just before 12:20 a.m. His booking information indicates that he lived at that address.
Stacey Van Battle, 60, died at the scene at 1:15 a.m., said Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones. Battle had been shot at least twice, Jones said.
Derrick Howard, 49, was taken to the Medical Center, Navicent Health, where he was pronounced dead at 1:13 a.m., Jones said. Howard was shot multiple times, Jones said.
“Witnesses stated that two men were in an altercation when a third male approached and brandished a handgun,” a sheriff’s office news release said. “The third male began to fire shots, striking both men.”
Whitehead was taken in to the sheriff’s office for questioning and then charged with two counts of murder, according to the release.
“A family member told me it started as fighting,” Jones said. “And they didn’t know what the fight was about.”
Fair Street is located off Mumford Road.
So far this year, the coroner’s office has recorded 28 homicide victims, including in the count the unborn child of a pregnant homicide victim and a teenager killed in a car crash in which the fleeing teen driver was charged with felony murder, Jones said.
Also included is an officer-involved shooting earlier this month, and the shooting death of Macon man thought to have been an intruder late last year. The man was shot by a resident Dec. 29 and died Jan. 19, Jones said.
While many in Macon-Bibb County and across the country are focused on COVID-19, Jones noted, “We’ve got a virus in our own black community killing one another.”
Most of the homicide victims are black, Jones noted.
Anyone with information about Friday’s double-homicide is urged to contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500, or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 7:22 AM.