A large block party in Macon known as the Death Valley party ended in gunfire on the night of June 1, 2019. Twenty-two-year-old Deroderick Ridley, an African American man, was fatally shot near Hillcrest Road and Log Cabin Drive; another man, Marquis Simmons, was wounded and survived. Investigators recovered about 200 shell casings at the chaotic scene after an altercation about a car doing burnouts escalated and a masked gunman opened fire from the passenger side of a vehicle.

Tips to Macon Regional Crimestoppers helped identify suspects. On June 17, 2019, 24-year-old Brandon Matthew Tyler was arrested and charged with murder; on June 27, 2019, 22-year-old Kenyatta Sharroid Jones Jr. was arrested and also charged with murder, with additional outstanding warrants noted. A jury later convicted Tyler of malice murder, felony murder, and two counts of aggravated assault; he received life plus 20 years and will be eligible for parole on the murder convictions after serving 30 years.

Did anyone attend the June 1 party or have photos or video from that night that might shed more light on what happened?