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Murder arrest in PTC bar fightTue, 07/08/2008 - 4:38pm
By: Cal Beverly
by Cal Beverly & John Munford A Fairburn man charged with murder for assaulting a Hampton man at a Peachtree City nightclub turned himself in early Tuesday afternoon, Peachtree City Police Chief H.C. “Skip” Clark said. Jeremy Scott, 22, of Elder Street, Fairburn, is charged in the murder of Devan Abercrombie, 32, of Hampton, police said. Scott is also charged with aggravated assault for the incident which occurred outside The Red Room bar in the Westpark Walk shopping center, police said. Abercrombie died of brain injuries Saturday at an Atlanta hospital, one week after the attack. A witness told The Citizen that Abercrombie was “sucker-punched” in the side of his jaw by a black man. “Devan fell to the ground, then attempted to get back up and went into a seizure,” said the witness, Kristin White, 23, of Fayetteville. She said the back of his head was “just pouring out blood” after striking the pavement. The incident occurred after Abercrombie intervened on behalf of a friend who was being “picked on” by seven or eight guys, White said. This is the city’s first homicide in two years. Clark said that between 25 and 30 witnesses were interviewed by police during the investigation, as it was difficult to find “credible” witnesses because so many of the people there had been drinking. Police announced Tuesday that a second suspect connected to the incident was arrested Monday. James Armond Blackmon, 23, of Peeks Crossings, Senoia, was arrested and charged with making false statements and writings. Abercrombie, described by friends as a free spirit, “defended” his friend verbally, White said, then turned to walk away. As he did, one of the group of young black men “sucker-punched” Abercrombie in the side of the jaw, knocking him to the pavement, White said. White, who said she knows cardiopulmonary resuscitation, said she checked his pulse and breathing and that both were OK. But she and another friend were having to hold Abercrombie down because he was experiencing a seizure. The group of “seven or eight” young black men “split before the cops got there,” White said. She said she had been told one person ran after the departing group to try to stop them, but himself got “beat up.” An ambulance transported Abercrombie to Piedmont Fayette Hospital, where he was then carried by LifeFlight helicopter to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Swelling of the brain started Tuesday, White said, and Abercrombie was taken off life support Saturday morning. White said she, Devan and a close friend he called “his brother” went to the Red Room Friday night, June 27. White said she doesn’t drink and was the “designated driver” for the group. She said Abercrombie had been out of work for “a couple of months” and had no automobile or driver’s license. Devan “wasn’t drunk,” White said, and used no derogatory or racial language in coming to the defense of his friend who was being accosted “over a couple of girls.” The bar was closing, White said, and a number of people who had been drinking the past several hours were ushered out the door into the Westpark parking lot, White said. That was when the trouble started, she said. During the altercation, White said, security personnel at the bar made no attempt to intervene or help. She asked for help, White said, but “the bouncer” said, “Past this gate is Peachtree City’s problem.” “They stood at that gate and watched the whole thing,” White said. The “gate” refers to a waist-high iron railing around the front of the Red Room. White said she believes the man who struck her friend was wearing brass knuckles, because it took only one unexpected punch to send Abercrombie crashing to the pavement so hard that he suffered a wound to the back of his head, away from where the punch had been landed. “You could hear his head hit” the pavement, White said. White said she was unsure whether there was any racial component to the altercation. She said Abercrombie used no racial slurs. Abercrombie had been estranged from his parents for several years, White said, and had been living with various friends over the past several months, the latest being a husband and wife near Jonesboro. Abercrombie had been laid off from his “arms department” job at Fort Benning, outside Columbus, Ga., earlier this year, White said. White, an eyewitness, said she and others had had trouble initially getting any information about police follow-up because the incident happened on a weekend and no one was available at the police department to get or give information. Whitney Groce, 24, of Fayetteville, said Abercrombie was a friend of hers for “years and years” and they even had a child together, Jaden Groce, who’s 3 years old. Groce said Abercrombie was proud of his daughter, though he wasn’t able to be a parent very much. She also said he was a good listener and helped others get their mind off of their problems. “He was a major part of my life and it’s just so so sad that he’s gone,” Groce said. Groce said Abercrombie had many friends. “It didn’t matter who you were or how he felt about you, he always made sure he took care of you,” Groce said. Susan Smith, who worked with Abercrombie at the Publix grocery store just outside Peachtree City seven years ago, said she kept in touch with him through the years. “He had a heart of gold and he would do anything for anyone,” Smith said. The last murder in Peachtree City was in October 2006 when April Dawn Ulrich shot and killed her ex-husband Eric Ulrich in the parking lot of the NCR campus. Ulrich pled guilty just before the trial was about to start and was sentenced to life in prison. The official account of Abercrombie’s injury from the Peachtree City Police Department follows: On Saturday, June 28, 2008, at approximately 2:36 a.m., the Peachtree City Police Department responded to a report of a fight in progress call at the Red Room located in the West Park Walk Shopping Center. Officers received a report that two subjects were physically assaulted by an unknown person(s) when they exited the bar. Witnesses at the scene reported that, at the time of the assaults, a crowd had gathered in front of the establishment. One of the injured, Devan Abercrombie (32 years of age) of Hampton, Ga., was transported by life flight (helicopter) to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. On July 5, 2008, the Police Department was notified that at approximately 1:20 p.m., Mr. Abercrombie succumbed to his injuries and died. At the request of the Fayette County Coroner’s Office an autopsy has been ordered by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. With the assistance of the Fairburn Police Department, Jeremy Scott, age 22, of Elder Street, Fairburn, Ga. was arrested [Tuesday] for felony murder and aggravated assault. He is being held at the Fayette County Jail awaiting a Magistrate Court appearance scheduled for July 9, 2008 at 2 p.m. The Fayette County Magistrate Court is located in the Fayette County Court House, 1 Center Drive, Fayetteville, Ga. If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are encouraged to contact the Peachtree City Criminal Investigations Division at 770-631-2510, or the Crime and Narcotics Information Hotline at 770-487-6010. You may remain anonymous. login to post comments
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