A man has been arrested in connection with a deadly January shooting during what was described as a drug deal at a troubled southeast Atlanta apartment complex, according to his warrant obtained Thursday.
Mical Walcott, 23, was taken into custody Tuesday on murder and gun possession charges after 28-year-old Rashad Kingsberry was shot with an AR-15 rifle at the Riverwood Apartments in the 900 block of Conley Road on Jan. 22, police said Wednesday.
Just after 5:30 p.m. that day, Atlanta police got a report of a person shot inside a vehicle at the complex. When officers arrived, they found Kingsberry unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a Nissan Rogue near the entrance with gunshot wounds to his head and torso, the warrant stated. He was later pronounced dead by medical personnel.
Just prior to the shooting, two people wearing dark clothing were seen in surveillance footage walking toward Kingsberry, who had just arrived at the complex, according to the warrant. After getting to the vehicle’s door, police said a fight ensued and the victim was shot.
During the investigation, police said detectives looked at text messages from a number that contacted Kingsberry “within minutes” of the shooting to set up a marijuana purchase.
“After the terms of the purchase were agreed upon, the decedent advised he would be on the way to 925 Conley Road,” the warrant stated.
Kingsberry then sent a message to the number saying he was not far from the location and to meet him at the front of the complex, according to the warrant. Police determined the number belonged to Walcott, who later admitted to contacting Kingsberry to purchase marijuana and to “discharging an AR-15 assault rifle at (the victim) which resulted in his death,” the warrant stated.
The complex, formerly known as Conley Square, Canyon Creek and the Villages at South River, is among 272 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous apartments, according to an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods.
Between 2017 and 2023, at least 22 crimes were reported at the apartments, including four aggravated assaults. In November, a man was found suffering from a gunshot wound at the complex. He told police he was shot at 807 Conley Road, located about a half-mile away near the intersection of Jonesboro Road.
According to police, Walcott is facing charges of murder and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to create certain felonies. At the time of his arrest, he was already being held in the county jail on separate criminal charges, police said.
On July 26, 2023, Walcott was arrested on charges of felony tampering with evidence and possession of marijuana, less than one ounce, online records show. According to that warrant, he was accused of removing shell casings from an active crime scene at the Preserve at Camp Creek apartment complex.
After getting called to that complex for a person shot, officers searched one of its units on North Camp Creek Parkway, whose occupants they believed were involved in the shooting, police said. After going inside, the warrant stated that officers found 21 grams of marijuana in a bookbag along with Walcott’s identification card. He later admitted to removing the shell casings, police said.
On Oct. 24, 2023, a bench warrant was issued for Walcott’s arrest after he violated the terms of his release by failing to report to pretrial services that September, according to an affidavit.
Walcott remains in the county jail without bond, online records show.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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