Jeremiah Griffin

In the winter of 2023, the life of Jeremiah Emmanuel Griffin, a 32-year-old Black male from Augusta, Georgia, was cut short by a sudden act of violence. Known to friends and family as “Jerm,” his death was met with shock and disbelief. One friend, Cherrice Pugh, posted online, “I can’t believe this. Feel like I’m waken up to a nightmare. I don’t pose to be saying R.I.P Jerm.”

On the evening of Monday, December 11, 2023, Griffin was at the Smart Grocery on Wrightsboro Road. According to authorities, a verbal argument between Griffin and another individual escalated, and Griffin was shot. Richmond County sheriff's deputies responded to a report of gunfire at the store around 8:50 p.m. They found Griffin suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:30 p.m.

The investigation quickly led to the identification of two suspects. Authorities alleged that 16-year-old Sanqwon Berry shot Griffin with a 9mm handgun during the fight. The driver of the vehicle that brought Berry to the store was identified as 21-year-old Tashanna Renee McDaniel. Investigators stated that after the shooting, McDaniel fled the scene without Berry and did not report the incident. She was arrested two days later and charged with murder.

Berry was publicly identified as the shooter in January 2024 and was sought on charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was later apprehended. In December 2024, Sanqwon Berry, then 17, pleaded guilty to malice murder and felony murder in connection with Jeremiah Griffin's death. Superior Court Judge Ashley Wright sentenced him to life in prison.

The Smart Grocery where the shooting occurred had a documented history of violence. News reports indicated it had been the site of at least nine shootings in the years prior to Griffin’s death, including another fatal shooting in September 2022. The store is located near several apartment complexes that have also been described as trouble spots for crime, including the one where Griffin lived.