Charles Woodfin ’Chip’ Case, 41, was shot and killed on the morning of Thursday, August 20, 2020 while performing code enforcement duties for Augusta’s Planning and Development department. He had driven a city vehicle to a 13th Avenue residence to post a condemned sign and, after returning to his truck, was ambushed when a shooter approached the driver’s side and fired. Neighbors heard four shots and found Case wounded in the road; officers began CPR but he was pronounced dead at 10:25 a.m. after being shot at least once.

Investigators identified the homeowner, 65-year-old Smitty Oliver Melton, as the primary suspect. Authorities surrounded Melton’s house, and he fled but was later located and taken into custody in neighboring Aiken County, South Carolina. Warrants were issued charging Melton with murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime. An autopsy for Case was scheduled to be performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Case was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who later served in Augusta government roles; he was a husband and father of four who had moved his family back to Georgia from California. Did anyone in the community see or hear anything on 13th Avenue that morning that could help the investigation?