DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — An Atlanta attorney weighed in on a deadly shooting that DeKalb County neighbors said was the result of a booting altercation.
It happened Saturday morning around 7 a.m. on Peachwood Circle.
Kay Redmond told Channel 2’s Cory James that she heard people arguing about a boot on a car and moments later heard gunshots.
“Right after we heard, ‘Take the boot off right now,’ that is when we heard the gunshots,” Redmond said. “Three rapid, quick shots and that was it.”
Redmond said she then saw a “man [lying] on the ground in his blue shirt.”
DeKalb County police identified that man as 47-year-old Kirwin Hinds. Police would not give information about what he was doing there or what led up to the shooting.
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However, people who live at the apartment complex told Channel 2 Action News that booting has gotten more aggressive, especially when it involves guests who are required to renew their registration every 12 hours.
“Realistically, I don’t feel like people are trying to get up in the middle of the night to re-register something, and when they send you the messages -- it’s inaccurate,” Necey Lewis told James. “So it’s no telling if your car has been booted and you go re-register it and next thing you know, you still got to pay to get the boot off.”
“When I see a story like this, it’s not surprising,” Atlanta-based attorney Matt Wetherington said.
While police are not confirming if the shooting was the result of a booting dispute, Wetherington said if it did result from that, it shows the need for regulatory polices that crack down on booting.
“There’s a new law that was passed this session by the legislature,” Wetherington said. “It lowers the fees; it allows a little bit more process for it and regulates it across the board because this is a practice that creates opportunities for violence.”
DeKalb County police said two people were arrested. Otis Blakes, 33, is being charged with murder, and Christopher Blakes, 28, is facing a simple battery charge.
Management at Haven on Peachwood has not responded to our request for comment.
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