Police Officer Jerry Reed Everett

Jerry Reed Everett

Officers Jerry Everett, Marvin Gravitt, and Ralph Davis were shot and killed after responding to a suspicious activity call.

Officers Everett and Davis were riding together and Officer Gravitt was being driven home after he had become ill.

During the drive they responded to the call and encountered several subjects stripping a vehicle. Nearby citizens reported hearing what they believed to be firecrackers going off and a search of the area the next day turned up the officer's patrol vehicle. Their bodies were found in a wooded area a short distance away, all handcuffed together, and shot a total of 14 times.

Three suspects were arrested several weeks later, one of whom was an ex-Gwinnett County deputy sheriff who knew the officers. One suspect was granted immunity after he agreed to testify against the other two. They were sentenced to death but later had their sentences commuted to life in prison. One was paroled in 1989. The ex-deputy died in prison in May of 2016.