SNELLVILLE, Ga. — The Gwinnett County Police Department has made an arrest after a person was found dead on a Snellville Road earlier this month.
Police say 17-year-old James Robertson Jr., of Snellville, was arrested and believe the motive for the homicide is robbery.
De’Lano Plummer, 23, was found just after 2 p.m. on Feb. 4. A passerby called police when they saw the body near the intersection of Hightower Trail and Donald Road in Snellville.
The caller said it looked like the person had either been hit by a car, or was injured. However, officers who responded to the scene said that the man looked like he had been shot at least once, but possibly more times.
Robertson has been charged with aggravated assault and felony murder. Detectives are continuing to investigate this homicide.
Police said they believe Plummer was familiar with Robertson and that this was not random.
Robertson is the seventh teenager arrested and charged with murder in Gwinnett County so far this year.
The seven teens are suspects in four, separate Gwinnett County homicides since January 1. Police say they have also identified suspects in a fifth homicide, but those suspects are adults. Police continue to work to identify suspects in two additional homicides since January 1.
"Obviously, it's still early in the year to draw any types of conclusions," said Cpl. Collin Flynn on Monday. "However, it is alarming for us to have this many teenaged suspects."
According to Cpl. Flynn, there were also seven, teenaged murder suspects in Gwinnett in 2018--for the entire year. And there was one, teenaged murder suspect in Gwinnett in all of 2019.
Flynn said police are working aggressively in the schools, doing all they can to prevent youth crimes.
"The Gwinnett County Schools police has various programs where they speak to children... and letting them know that there are alternatives to committing violent crime."
Flynn said that the seven teen suspects are involved in just one gang-related murder, while the other three homicides were the result of robberies or drug activity.
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