Hart County sheriff hopes $10,000 reward will help find clues to man's killer

Delphonso Heard worked his job in Anderson, S.C., got a ride back to the Walmart store in Hartwell, then during the dark night hours as he was walking home someone fatally shot him.

As his body lie on Georgia Highway 172 during the predawn hours, two vehicles ran over him.

One car kept going. The other stopped. The driver called 911.

Soon the police blocked off the crime scene.

Since that set of circumstances happened on Nov. 1, 2022, the mystery of who took this 32-year-old man’s life remains unresolved.

“We’ve canvassed the neighborhood. We’ve interviewed all the people around that area, but we can’t find anything solid to go on,” Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said this week.

In the wake of leads dissolving in the case, Heard’s family is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for his death.

“He had kids. He kept his kids up and he worked. He wasn’t in a gang,” the sheriff said as he talked about a man, who apparently led an ordinary life.

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Heard was left walking that night due to his car having mechanical problems, according to the sheriff.

“He worked in Anderson (S.C.) and he caught a ride to work and caught a ride back and he asked them to put him out at Walmart,” Cleveland said.

Investigators, including Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, located video of Heard at the Walmart and another showing him walking at a location between Walmart and the place he was shot.

The sheriff’s investigators believe the shooting must have happened around midnight.

Heard, a graduate of Hart County High School, had received an associate degree in auto engine mechanics and criminal justice. He was walking along the highway toward his home when the nighttime killer shot him for an unknown reason.

The location of the shooting was south of the Hartwell city limits between Valley Hart Road and Hickory Crossing Road, according to sheriff's reports.

“Two vehicles that didn’t see him ran over him,” Cleveland said. “One kept going but we ran it down and determined they didn’t have anything to do with the shooting. The other hit him and stopped and called 911."

But no witnesses have been found that might give a clue as to the killer’s identity.

“We’re hoping the reward money will open a lead,” the sheriff said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (706) 376-3114 or the GBI at (706) 542-7901.