Suspect arrested in fatal shooting on Washington Road

ing the victims: CSRA slaying surge’s toll nears 50

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A suspect has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting a week ago on Washington Road.

Reginald Eugene Johnson, 32, of Augusta, was fatally shot late Oct. 17 at 3024 Washington Road, a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins location just west of Interstate 20. Johnson was pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m.

Authorities arrested John Lee Scarboro, 35, of Augusta, on Friday in connection with the slaying.

He was being held Monday in Richmond County jail on charges of murder, possession of a firearm or knife during a crime and simple family battery in addition to an unspecified arrest warrant from another agency.

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According to an arrest warrant for Scarboro, he and another person were shooting at one another when the victim was struck in the head with a bullet.

The slaying was part of an outbreak of deadly violence that’s swept the CSRA since spring, claiming nearly 50 lives so far.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is blaming gangs for much of a recent uptick in deadly shootings, as well as saying that many of the people who’ve been shot were looking for trouble and found it.

“The Sheriff’s Office is very cognizant of the fact that gun violence is rising around the country,” Richmond County Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton said after last week’s shooting of Johnson.

He pointed out that the crime rate here compares favorably to Columbus and Macon, communities with similar populations and demographics in Georgia.

“That being said, the Richmond County citizens want to know what we are doing here?” Clayton said. “As many of these shootings are gang-related, the local gang should be very afraid.”

He said the deputies are in the midst of a large investigation that should lead to the arrests of numerous gang .

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“We also anticipate due to the rise of traffic fatalities, we may increase traffic safety checks, which, always have the residual benefit of gun seizures, drug and gang arrests,” he said.

“Lastly, we will increase our operational tempo by redeploying our personnel throughout the county led by our data/intelligence,” he said.

Clayton and Sheriff Richard Roundtree noted that there’s been a major uptick in gun violence across the country. Although the agency has been able to generally reduce crime in the other major crime categories, gun violence is the least predictable, therefore, the hardest to combat.

Authorities must take a harder stance on gun violence locally and throughout the U.S., Clayton and Roundtree said.

Those who are carrying a gun illegally or during the commission of a crime should go to jail, they said, and chronic predatory offenders should go to jail and stay there.