Investigators arrest Juliette man for suspected role in disappearance of Macon mother
Investigators from Bibb and Monroe counties have arrested a man in Monroe County in connection with the disappearance of a Macon woman last month, officials said.
Investigators arrested Jatarvius Deangelo Price, 19, at about 12:30 p.m. Friday in Juliette and charged him with making false statements and tampering with evidence, according to a news release from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities believe Price played a role in the disappearance of Gabriella Dixon, 18, who was reported missing on Oct. 31. Price was arrested after deputies executed a search warrant on a home in Juliette, Georgia.
Price is being held at the Bibb County Jail in downtown Macon without bond. It is unclear how investigators linked Price to the case.
The investigation so far
Dixon was reported missing after family members could not get in touch with her the day before. Her disappearance attracted media attention after one of her children was quoted in a police report saying “Momma was in blood” when the search for her first began.
While Price’s arrest is the first directly linked to Dixon’s disappearance, Bibb sheriff’s deputies arrested one suspect in the case, Reginald Bernard Harris, 19, earlier this month for allegedly assaulting Dixon earlier this year.
Harris allegedly assaulted Dixon on multiple occasions in September. The first encounter between the two happened the night of Sept. 3 when Harris followed Dixon, their children and another man in their car and shot at them, the warrant read.
Harris confronted Dixon after the shooting at Dixon’s mother’s house and claimed Dixon was disrespecting him by having his children around another man. Dixon also showed deputies a text from Harris that read, “Don’t be surprised when I knock on the door,” according to the warrant.
A second assault happened Sept. 23, warrants stated, when Harris allegedly choked Dixon and held her at gunpoint in their apartment. Harris said he would kill Dixon if she left him, the warrant read.
Deputies saw bruises on Dixon’s neck and told her how to get a restraining order against Harris, according to the warrant. It was unclear whether Dixon ever followed through.
No charges directly linked to Dixon’s disappearance at the end of October were made against Harris. He was held without bond at the Bibb County Jail after his arrest for charges linked to the September incidents and was still in jail on Friday when Price was arrested, jail logs show.
This story was originally published November 17, 2023 at 2:13 PM.