Police charge man in shooting that left victim on life support until he died Feb. 15

Columbus police have charged a suspect in the Feb. 8 shooting of Ronnie Brooks Jr., who died in the hospital a week later.

Kevon Carter, 26, has been charged with murder and aggravated assault, and more arrests are expected, detectives said.

Carter appeared briefly in Recorder’s Court at 9 a.m. Thursday but continued his hearing until 9 a.m. Friday.

Brooks, 24, was pronounced dead of complications from a gunshot wound to the neck at 1:40 p.m. Feb. 15 in the intensive care unit at Piedmont Columbus Regional’s midtown campus, where he was on life support, authorities said.

Police said an acquaintance reported that Brooks was shot on Decatur Court, but detectives doubted that account, suspecting he was shot on Parkchester Drive.

Brooks was the fifth of the seven Columbus homicide victims so far for 2019.

Anyone with more information on Brooks’ shooting is asked to contact Cpl. Matt Sitler at 706-225-4367 or msitler@columbusga.org.

This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 6:42 PM.

Tim Chitwood

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

706-571-8508

Tim Chitwood is from Seale, Alabama, and started as a police beat reporter with the Ledger-Enquirer in 1982. He since has covered Columbus’ serial killings and other homicides, following some from the scene of the crime to trial verdicts and ensuing appeals. He also has been a Ledger-Enquirer humor columnist since 1987. He’s a graduate of Auburn University, and started out working for the weekly Phenix Citizen in Phenix City, Ala.