Murder suspect turns himself in after shootout
By Blake Pittman
Editor
One local man is dead, and another is behind bars, after a shootout last Wednesday killed Brad Collins, 24, of Homerville.
On Wednesday afternoon, around 5 p.m., officers with the Homerville Police Department responded to a Poppell Square address in response to a man being shot. When they arrived on the scene, they discovered the victim had been transported to the hospital by people on the scene, and that the shooter was nowhere to be found. Upon arrival, officers observed a big crowd that had gathered on a grassy area near the crime scene, and a red BMW car with bullet holes in it. Officers immediatel
Marthony Hood
y taped off the area and began their early investigations, according to the Homerville Police report. According to officials, witness reports were scarce, but it appeared that an earlier argument between the suspected shooter, Marthony Hood, 22, of a Homerville address, and Collins, of a Sweat Street address in Homerville, led to Collins following Hood to his home in Poppell Square, where the arguments escalated. Shots were fired, leaving Collins with two bullet wounds in the chest, that ultimately led to his death. Hood fled the scene and Collins was transported to Clinch Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
At the scene, to verify reports from witnesses, officers observed that there were several shell casings laying around the vehicle, as well as one live round. The red BMW car had three bullet holes in the windshield, and one through the glass on the front passenger side door. Inside the vehicle, officers located bullet fragments, and a mushroomed bullet, all of which were collected as evidence.
Immediately officers began a search of the area for Hood. A K-9 search of the area yielded a scent trail that led into the woods, but went cold after a while. Officers patrolled the area for the rest of the night, before going to Happyville to search a known location there, none of which turned up anything.
Late Sunday evening, Hood finally turned himself in to the Coffee County Jail in Douglas, where he was booked on charges of murder, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The case is still under investigation.
