Fort Valley cops investigate weekend shooting death of Houston County teen

A Houston County teenager was found shot to death early Saturday in the back seat of a car at a Fort Valley apartment complex, police there said.

The victim, Justin Woodford, 16, lived on the east side of Perry, Peach County Coroner Kerry Rooks said.

Woodford, shot in the upper torso, was discovered at about 5:30 a.m. in a car parked at College Square Apartments northeast of the Fort Valley State University campus, police said.

Police at first were dispatched to the 400 block of St. Lukes Lane, half a mile or so west of the apartments, where the shooting may have happened.

What prompted the deadly episode — about which police said there were conflicting accounts — was still being investigated Monday.

Joe Kovac Jr.

The Telegraph

Joe Kovac Jr. writes about local news and features for The Telegraph, with an eye for human-interest stories. Joe is a Warner Robins native and graduate of Warner Robins High. He joined the Telegraph in 1991 after graduating from the University of Georgia. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. His stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the Seattle Times and Atlanta Magazine. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards.