3rd teen arrested in killing of 16-year-old in Lovejoy Park

A third teenage suspect accused in the killing of a 16-year-old boy in Lovejoy Park last summer has been arrested, authorities said Tuesday.

Oliver Choyce, 16, surrendered to authorities Monday, roughly nine months after he allegedly shot Jamarious Smith in front of other people at the edge of the Hampton park June 29, according to the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.

“Fugitive investigators worked days, nights, weekends and holidays obtaining information and tracking Choyce,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “Choyce was the last of the three suspects involved in the murder on the run.”

The other suspects, 18-year-old Kwame McGinty and 17-year-old Alex Hampton, are both facing murder charges. McGinty was arrested June 30, while Hampton was arrested four months later on Oct. 30.

Arrest warrants were obtained for Choyce about a month after the shooting, on July 25, according to deputies. In late January, the sheriff’s office posted a video message on social media urging Choyce to turn himself in. He had been identified as a suspect by Lovejoy police and considered armed and dangerous after the killing.

“We are coming for you,” the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities said Choyce eventually surrendered following nearly a year of pressure from law enforcement in Lovejoy and Clayton County. Afterward, Clayton Sheriff Levon Allen called the mother of the victim, Pumpkin Smith, to help her “rest a little easier,” according to deputies.

Credit: Clayton County Sheriff's Office

Smith told Channel 2 Action News that a group of teenagers was hanging out with her son at her house on the day of the shooting.

“He had some guys on my porch that I did not approve of and I asked him to ask the guys to leave from in front of my door,” Smith told the news station.

Jamarious Smith left with the rest of the group, but the following day police officers knocked on her door and asked for a photo of her son, she said. They then broke the news that he had been killed.

Pumpkin Smith said she had no idea why anyone would want to kill her son, Channel 2 reported. The teen died after being shot in the neck, head and arm, the sheriff’s office said.

On Monday, Choyce was booked into a regional youth detention center in Clayton. He is facing charges of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt of a crime, according to the sheriff’s office.

A motive for the killing is still unclear, and no other details were provided by authorities. An investigation is ongoing.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.

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