By Joe Johnson
A Clarke County grand jury has indicted a minor and an adult for murder in the shooting death of a teen three months ago at an Athens apartment complex.
Athens residents Quatravis Hull, 15, and David Devon Richard, 21, were each charged with malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the indictment filed Tuesday in Clarke County Superior Court.
According to Athens-Clarke County police, the alleged murder of 19-year-old Ketorian Cooper occurred the afternoon of Sept. 23 in the breezeway of the 110 building at Bethel Midtown Village. Cooper later died at the hospital and police subsequently arrested on murder charges the two defendants, with Hull being charged as an adult.
Investigators determined that bad blood that existed between Cooper and Richard provided the motivation for Cooper’s slaying.
“It is believed that the victim and David Richard had ongoing issues with each other, the root of which has not been determined,” said Lt. Shaun Barnett, ACCPD’s public information officer.
“It is believed that Cooper and Richard had been involved in a physical altercation a couple of months prior to this incident,” Barnett said. “The altercation and on-going issues are believed to be motivation behind this shooting.”
According to Barnett, investigators believe that both Richard and Hull possessed firearms during, but it had yet to be confirmed which defendant shot Cooper.
Richard and Hull are scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 25.
Richard is being detained at the county jail, while Hull remains in custody at a Department of Juvenile Justice regional youth detention center.