New Glynn Co. law enforcement taskforce created after a deadly cook out

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Multiple Glynn County law enforcement agencies are partnering together to tackle crime after a large BBQ event turned deadly.

“This was the final straw,” Glynn County Police Chief Jacques Battiste said. “This was the straw that the community was screaming, ‘Why aren’t the police doing anything?’”

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Battiste went on to say that some sort of domestic situation happened at a nearby club on Christmas Eve. On Dec. 26, a cookout took place in Selden Park. Some of the people who were involved in the altercation two days earlier decided to attend.

An 18-year-old, later identified as Amondrick Roberts, was shot and killed at the park. His family is asking for privacy at this time. A second victim was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound, but is expected to be OK.

“Shots rang out,” Battiste said. “The person, from what I understand, who was killed was defending another family member, who was engaged in the actual fights.”

The 18-year-old was a father in the Brunswick community. Despite there being reports of multiple people videotaping the incident with their cellphones, no one has come forward with information to help.

“The community is remaining very tight-lipped about it,” Battiste said. “There were over 100 people there that night, and no one is making the statement of saying anything. We are not looking to press or charge anyone. We are looking to get answers to finding those responsible, because if it happened this time, it may have happened before. But we certainly don’t want it to happen again.”

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Besides this homicide, there have been four other homicides in Glynn County this year. The chief said there have also been:

• 1,046 thefts
• More than 300 automobiles break-ins
• More than 1,100 weapon offenses (about 400 are drug-related)
• 46 gun-related incidents
• 291 calls for shots fired

“[Nearly] 300 shots fired calls in a county that’s this size, with less than 100,000 populace, that’s disturbing,” Battiste said.

The chief, along with other county officials, announced the launch of ”Operation Safe Glynn” in response to the recent violence.

“We took the initiative to build a new plan to try to get ahead of this, because if we allow it to go further and continue--, it’s going to be a raging wildfire,” Battiste said.

Action News Jax reporter, Meghan Moriarty, sat down with Battiste to get more information on the program. He said it’s meant to develop a better level of trust between the community and law enforcement.

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“There used to be a time when units would ride through and not even speak to people, just ride through and only respond to calls,” Battiste said “Now, we’ve got to get out of the cars. We’ve got to go interact with people.”

His hope is that with the partnership of all Glynn County public safety agencies, including the fire department, school police and local sheriff’s offices, that people will come forward to help with crime, especially in the recent death of Roberts.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact Silent Witness at 912-264-1333 or the lead investigator at 912-554-7817.

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