Suspect arrested after man found shot to death behind DeKalb store
Questions remain after man found dead behind Goodyear store
A DeKalb County family is searching for answers after a 35-year-old man was found shot to death behind a Goodyear store on Memorial Drive last week.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County family is searching for answers after a man was found shot to death behind a Memorial Drive automotive business.
Authorities captured a suspect on Tuesday following the early morning shooting.
What we know:
DeKalb County police officers rushed to the 3500 block of Memorial Drive just before 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday after receiving reports of shots being fired.
Upon arrival, emergency crews discovered the body of 35-year-old Juan Gabriel Sanchez behind a Goodyear store.
Investigators arrested 44-year-old Marlowe Hawkins on Tuesday in connection with the killing.
Hawkins was arrested on charges that include murder, possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
What they're saying:
The deadly violence has shattered a local family and left two young children without a father.
The victim's mother, Janet Dueñas, stated that her grandchildren are still too young to understand that their father is gone forever.
Dueñas returned to the business property where her son died, noting that the site of the tragedy is an image she will never forget.
"Why did you leave my son just laying here? Please, I don't think he deserved this. No one deserves a death like this," Dueñas said. "He died right here. When I got here, all I found was my son's blood."
The grieving mother explained that the reality of the loss has not yet sunk in.
"Honestly, I never thought that something like this would happen to one of my kids, and I keep thinking that this is just a nightmare where I haven't been able to wake up," she said. "There aren't words to explain what we are going through because, for me, they took a huge part of my life."
What's next:
DeKalb County police detectives are continuing to evaluate evidence gathered behind the business. The case will move forward through the court system as prosecutors prepare the murder and weapons charges against Hawkins.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official public updates provided by the DeKalb County Police Department, as well as direct face-to-face interviews conducted by FOX 5 with the victim's mother, Janet Dueñas.