By Joe Johnson
Authorities early Thursday arrested a third suspect in the shooting death of a Watkinsville teen two weeks ago.
Ryan Timothy O’Neal, 18, of Athens was tracked down to an apartment in Wilkes County, where he was arrested at about 12:45 a.m., according to Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry.
He was located by deputies from Wilkes and Oconee counties, along with members of the local FBI Safe Streets Task Force that is comprised of FBI agents and Athens-Clarke County police officers, Berry said.
O’Neal and two Athens brothers are charged with felony murder and aggravated assault for the July 16 shooting death of 19-year-old Joseph “Joey” Jackson.
Akhemu Nehisi Dunston, 18 and Quentin Keith Dunston, 19, were arrested Tuesday night.
[JJ1] Berry said his investigators had murder and aggravated assault warrants for a fourth suspect, who he hoped to have in custody later in the day Thursday.
Berry would not go into details about the case while the additional arrest was pending.
To safeguard the investigation, the sheriff’s office had not released much information about Jackson’s alleged murder, and it was not until Wednesday that Berry confirmed the teen had died from being shot.
Previously, the sheriff’s office said that Jackson had left the Cumberland Drive home where he lived with his grandparents the night of July 16 and when he returned home at about midnight his grandparents found him bleeding from “significant injuries “outside their home
The sheriff’s office said at the time that investigators believed something happened to Jackson at the corner of Whippoorwill Road and Cumberland Drive, where a large amount of shattered glass from a vehicle’s side window was located.
Berry on Wednesday said the glass shattered from gunfire that killed Jackson.