Macon shooting victim arrested in killing of Chicago man on Jeffersonville Road

Frank Harris always thought his son Brandon would be the one to handle his funeral arrangements.

Instead, Harris laid the 29-year-old to rest Saturday in Chicago.

“That was my heart, there,” Frank Harris said Wednesday.

Eleven days after Brandon Harris was shot and killed outside an east Macon restaurant, Bibb County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Macon man who was also shot that night.

Raleigh Jackson, 27, of Mitchell Street, was charged with murder after he was picked up at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

Brandon Harris was fatally wounded near the parking lot of Shark’s Fish & Chicken Chicago Style at 2909 Jeffersonville Road about 11:20 p.m. Aug. 28.

Hours before, Brandon Harris and his best friend arrived on a bus from Chicago to visit the buddy’s Macon family, Frank Harris said.

“My son knew nobody there, except the friend he was with,” Harris said.

The initial Bibb County sheriff’s news release about the killing stated Brandon Harris and Jackson were walking to the Sunoco gas station and store when both were shot by an “unidentified black male.”

Frank Harris said the two men were not together and that his son did not know Jackson. He is baffled why anyone would harm his son, let alone a stranger.

The elder Harris, who lives in Augusta, traveled to Macon and walked through the crime scene with his son’s best friend.

He was told his son and friend were riding in the backseat of a car, with the friend’s family members up front.

They stopped to get something to eat at Shark’s, and Brandon Harris and his friend lingered in the backseat, talking, after the other family members went inside.

When Harris and his friend were getting out of the car, shots rang out.

Harris ran and the gunman followed, his father was told.

The friend jumped back into the car to flee, and the gunman started shooting at the moving vehicle as it went toward the store.

The other two ran from the eatery and got in the car.

They drove back to the other side of restaurant and saw Harris’ arm waving up from the ditch.

“I can’t breathe,” he told them.

They rushed him to Coliseum Medical Centers where he succumbed to the wound that tore through his back and stomach.

Frank Harris said his son did not have a gun.

The sheriff’s office has not indicated whether a third man is still being sought or how Jackson was wounded.

The incident report states Jackson’s girlfriend said he was headed to the Sunoco from the Red Carpet Inn, where they were staying at 2866 Jeffersonville Road.

She heard two sets of gunshots and saw Jackson running toward the store after the first shots and walking from the store after the second round, the report stated.

Jackson got to the top of the motel stairs and collapsed at the second floor.

When a deputy later asked him what happened, he said he didn’t know, the report stated.

Frank Harris wants to have a conversation with whoever killed his son.

“I don’t have any hard feelings about this man, but I want to talk to this man,” Harris said. “He took away a loved one, a father to his child -- and my son was definitely a father to his child.”

The younger Harris had planned to surprise his father with a visit after the Macon party.

Instead, the elder Harris got the shocking call about the death of his son, who would have turned 30 next month.

“At first, yes, I was bitter, but I know God doesn’t take anyone before their time,” Harris said.

After the shooting, Jackson was listed in stable condition at the Medical Center, Navicent Health.

If he is found to be guilty of Harris’ death, the dead man’s father hopes Jackson can counsel others.

In the aftermath, a 4-year-old boy in Chicago has lost his father and namesake.

“He helped a lot of people,” the elder Harris said of his son. “If you find somebody to say something negative about him, I’d give you $500.”

Wednesday morning’s news release indicated the investigation continues and anyone with information is urged to call 751-7500 and talk with an investigator, or leave anonymous tips at Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 877-68-CRIME.

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter@liz_lines.

This story was originally published September 9, 2015 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Macon shooting victim arrested in killing of Chicago man on Jeffersonville Road ."