A late-September call about a car off the road on Highway 301 South in Screven County turned into a double homicide investigation. On September 27, 2025, 30-year-old Brandon Counts was found inside a vehicle with a fatal gunshot wound and taken to a local hospital, where he later died. Another 30-year-old man from Sylvania, Leon Tolbert Jr., was also found shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Georgia State Patrol determined the vehicle had not been in a collision but had driven off the side of the road. A handgun was recovered inside the car, and both men’s bodies were sent to the GBI Crime Lab in Pooler for autopsies. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the inquiry, which has been described as active and ongoing. There has been no public announcement of arrests or identified suspects.

If anyone has information about what happened that pre-dawn morning or knew either man, please contact the investigators handling the case.