By Joe Johnson
Athens rap artist Ketravian Cole, a.k.a. EBE Montana, was wanted in connection with a local shooting at the time he was shot and killed last week in Barrow County, according to Athens-Clarke County police.
The shooting occurred March 31 when an officer on patrol heard 12 to 15 gunshots in the area of AMC Dine-in Athens 12 Theaters on Lexington Road, according to police.
The officer stopped a pickup truck that he saw speeding away from the Marathon gas station that is located in front of the theaters, but after briefly detaining the driver, the officer let her go as she was a witness to the shooting who was fleeing for her safety, police said.
Other witnesses reported seeing a gray Chevrolet Blazer and a Honda leave Marathon and shots were fired at the Honda from the Blazer as both vehicles travelled west on Lexington Road.
Officers recovered six bullet casings from the roadway, but could find no evidence that anyone had been injured, according to police.
An investigation subsequently identified 20-year-old Keivaziay Freddrion Jet Ball of Simmons Street as the driver of the Honda, police said.
He was booked into the county jail Monday afternoon on a charge of aggravated assault. Warrants were also taken out on two other suspects, including the slain rapper.
“Mr. Cole had an active warrant for aggravated assault for the Lexington Road shooting at the time of his death,” Athens-Clarke police Capt. Christopher Nichols said.
The other suspect, a purported gang member, had yet to be arrested as of Wednesday.
When Cole was killed in Barrow County on Saturday, he appeared to have been specifically targeted, according to county Sheriff Jud Smith.
His death may have been gang-related, Smith said.
Cole reportedly was a passenger in a vehicle that was traveling west on Ga. Highway 316 near Jackson Trail Road shortly after midnight when a dark-colored sedan pulled alongside and one or more of its occupants opened fire, killing Cole and wounding the driver, who was a relative of the rapper.
The incident was initially reported to the sheriff’s office as a possible case of road rage.
“It was not a random incident and appears the deceased victim was targeted,” Smith said on Tuesday.
“We are not getting much cooperation from friends and family but we do have some tips coming in that would suggest this was gang-related,” Smith said.
After the shooting, the sedan turned around and sped off east toward Athens-Clarke County.
“We are trying to find out if any incident happened (in Athens) prior to the shooting on 316,” Smith said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the investigation.
Anyone with any information pertaining to this incident is asked to contact the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office at 770-307-3080 or the GBI’s Athens Office at 706-552-2309.
Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.