On March 23, 2023, a planned firearm transaction at the Royal Crest Apartments in Tyler, Texas, ended in a fatal shooting that killed 19-year-old Donovan Dodd and 17-year-old Ladarius Jackson, both from Athens. The meeting was arranged as a trade of an AR-15 for a 9mm pistol and $400 in cash; according to arrest affidavits, Hudson coordinated the meeting and knew Dodd and Jackson intended to rob the seller of the AR-15.

During the exchange, Jackson allegedly tried to shoot the seller. A struggle followed, the seller recovered the AR-15 and fired multiple rounds, fatally wounding Dodd and Jackson; the seller was also shot in the thigh. Nicholas Hudson, 19, of Malakoff, was arrested and initially charged with two counts of murder; he later pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery and received a 20-year sentence. A grand jury declined to indict the seller.

Did anyone in the Athens or Tyler area witness the transaction or know more about how these young men connected with the seller?