An armed man charged with a murder in Georgia was apprehended Sunday morning in Eupora without incident. The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office in Griffin, Ga., provided this information about the shooting death and the suspect’s apprehension in a news release issued Sunday: Spalding County deputies were notified about 9:20 p.m. Saturday that a body had been found in the parking lot of Macedonia Baptist Church located at the intersection of Old Atlanta Road and Baptist Camp Road in Griffin. According to Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, “A deputy had just conducted a traffic stop at the intersection when he heard people yelling at him and trying to get his attention, and they directed him to the body. One of the witnesses told the deputy that he had been walking in the area, heard a gunshot and saw a small black vehicle, possibly a Toyota, speed from the area. “As he continued to walk, he saw the body lying in the parking lot and ran to a friend’s house to call for help. He and his friends were all going back to the lot to see if there was anything else they could do when they saw the deputy and called out to him.” Dix added, “We immediately called for assistance from WellStar EMS and Spalding Fire. Deputies began checking for vitals on the victim but couldn’t locate a pulse. EMS arrived on scene and could not find any vital signs. They secured the crime scene as Spalding County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigators, Crime Scene Unit and (two county deputy coroners) were notified and arrived on scene. “Initially, as investigators began gathering evidence, they couldn’t locate any identification on the female victim or a phone. In this case we were able to use technology we have invested in to identify the victim. This handheld device allows us to take a fingerprint and almost instantly get an identification based on that print. That’s how we were able to identify the victim as 38-year-old Munteshia Brown (of Griffin). Once she was identified we were able to find her relatives in Barnesville (Ga.) and let them know what had happened.” Victim Linked to Boyfriend At that point, Dix said investigators were able to link Brown to her boyfriend, Donald Eugene Colquitt, 55, also of Griffin, and link Brown to the vehicle that the first witness saw speeding from the scene. Dix said the vehicle turned out to be her car, and the sheriff’s office entered it as stolen and put a lookout on it. “As the investigation continued, we obtained her phone number and began pinging it since it was not on her when she was found,” Dix stated. “We were able to track the suspect Colquitt, believed to still be in her car, as he crossed Alabama and entered Mississippi. “We notified the Eupora Police Department to a location where we pinged the phone, and they were able to locate Ms. Brown’s vehicle and Donald Colquitt at a McDonald’s in their city,” Dix said. “Colquitt was taken into custody for the stolen car, which is now secured in evidence at their agency. A Ruger 9mm handgun was found in his possession.” Dix went on to say, “He is currently in custody at the Webster County Jail. This afternoon (Sunday), Lt. Carrie Williams-James obtained a warrant on Colquitt charging with him murder. We will obtain further warrants on him for other crimes related to this case as the investigation continues. “My criminal investigators, crime scene investigators and the Spalding County Coroner’s Office worked through the night to identify Ms. Brown, locate her relatives and start piecing together what led to her death. It was the teamwork of those folks, the Eupora, Miss., police and the Webster County Sheriff’s Office that led us to capture Colquitt.” Details of Capture Eupora Police Chief Gregg Hunter said after the EPD was notified that Colquitt was believed to be in the area, Officer Tanner Pritchard started looking for the vehicle in question and saw one matching the description backed up on the carwash (south) side of Circle K/McDonald’s. Pritchard contacted a Choctaw County deputy who was in the area to back him up and they identified the vehicle as Brown’s, according to Hunter. A black male who fit Colquitt’s description was inside the car, he said, and the EPD obtained more backup to put the car under surveillance. Around 7 a.m. Sunday, Hunter said somebody came in another vehicle, picked the suspect up and pulled out onto Highway 9, which law enforcement officers shut down as the car started to leave. “We blocked the road and took him (Colquitt) into custody without incident,” said Hunter, who confirmed that Colquitt was armed and that the EPD took his handgun. Colquitt remained Monday afternoon in the Webster County Jail awaiting extradition to Georgia, which Hunter said was expected to be soon. The police chief thanked all those who helped in the successful and safe apprehension of Colquitt. “This team effort included officers of Eupora PD, Choctaw SO, Oktibbeha SO, Webster SO, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Mr. James Rico and Webster 911 dispatch,” Hunter stated. “Thank you for a great job.”
