On the late afternoon of August 25, 2020, 52-year-old Mark Alden Howard was shot and killed at an Apex Chevron gas station on North Avenue in Athens, Georgia. Howard and 45-year-old Reginald Lang Kelley encountered each other after a long-running dispute that family and others traced to an earlier fight in which Howard’s hand had been cut. Authorities say Howard pulled his vehicle next to Kelley’s, exited his car and approached Kelley’s vehicle; after an exchange of words and Howard pulling on Kelley’s car door, Kelley — seated in the driver’s seat — fired a handgun, striking Howard twice at close range.

Multiple witnesses were present and Howard died at the scene.Kelley was taken into custody and charged with malice murder and felony murder. The defense asserted self-defense; bond and pretrial restrictions were modified over time. In June 2022 a judge reviewed surveillance footage and witness testimony and granted Kelley immunity from prosecution, finding evidence consistent with his claim that he was trapped in his vehicle and acted to protect himself.

Did anyone in the Athens area see the events at the gas station or know more about the dispute between the two men?