Milledgeville police arrest person of interest in rash of shootings

A tip to Milledgeville police about a man with a gun led to the arrest of a suspected gang member who is a person of interest in the recent wave of shootings.

Terrence Simmons was arrested Monday after he resisted officers who found a gun on him in Graham Homes, also known as the Boddie Projects.

“It is the same caliber as some of the shell casings investigated in other crimes,” said Maj. John Davis, head of the patrol division of the Milledgeville Police Department.

Simmons, who is believed to be a member of the Boddie Projects Bloods gang, was wearing gang colors at the time of his arrest, Davis said.

The GBI will conduct ballistics testing on the stolen Baretta .40-caliber gun that was in Simmons’ waistband to see if it matches bullets or shell casings from 18 shootings this summer that are believed to be gang related.

“I think this ongoing beef has been going on for a while,” Davis said. “One shooting leads to another shooting, which leads to another.”

Both the city police and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office are investigating clusters of shootings in Graham Homes, on the south side of town around Fifth Street near Harrisburg Road, and in the West End area of Wray Homes, Davis said.

Police investigated another shooting Wednesday morning.

A car was shot up in the 1300 block of North Clark Street just before 8 a.m.

Damarious Bolston was charged with aggravated assault in that case, but investigators think that was a domestic issue not related to the others.

A gun recovered from Wednesday’s shooting will be tested anyway, just to be sure, Davis said.

“If you get arrested with a gun in Milledgeville these days, you can be sure it’s going to be tested,” Davis said.

Investigators think a feud between rival gangs intensified in mid-June when 21-year-old Diquan Key was killed in a barrage of gunfire outside Soul Masters Club off Ga. 22.

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

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Milledgeville police arrest person of interest in rash of shootings ."