By Joe Johnson
Charges have yet to be filed in the shooting death of an Athens man two months ago.
Athens-Clarke County police Lt. Shaun Barnett this week said that the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Hollow Ridge Drive resident Cecil Antonio Pittard continued to be investigated and that detectives were awaiting the results of evidence analysis from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab.
As of last month, the crime lab reportedly had a backlog of 24,000 cases.
Pittard was killed the evening of Nov. 25 at his girlfriend’s Garnett Ridge Drive home, where police said he was involved in an altercation with the woman’s son, 29-year-old Joshua Lamar Scott. The altercation resulted in Scott fatally shooting Pittard.
"Both Scott and his mother stated that Cecil had started a confrontation with Scott, culminating in the shooting," Athens-Clarke County police Capt. John Radford said at the time. "Scott was detained but released without arrest."
According to Capt. Christopher Nichols, commanding officer of the Criminal Investigations Division, additional investigation was required before deciding what, if any, charges should be filed.
"The case file for Pittard's death will not be completed until we receive reports back from the GBI," Nichols said, explaining that investigators were awaiting findings from an autopsy and analysis of the gun that was used in the incident.
"Once we have a completed case file, we will discuss the case in depth with the district attorney’s office to determine if any charges are appropriate in the case,” Nichols said. “We will continue to provide (the DA's office) updates on the case as it continues to develop.” Police asked for anyone with information about the shooting to contact Detective Michael Carroll at (762) 400-7098 or michael.carroll@accgov.com.