Norman Park man shot to death

By Alan Mauldin

The Moultrie Observer

MOULTRIE (TNS) — Investigators say they don’t know why 68-year-old John Hester Sr. walked to the end of his driveway on Sunday night, shotgun in hand, and fired it multiple times.

But answering those questions could answer the bigger one: Who fatally shot the Norman Park man that night.

Hester returned to his 353 Hwy. 256 residence with a gunshot wound, the first indication his family apparently had of the gunfire.

“At 11:56 p.m. Colquitt County 911 received a call regarding a person with a gunshot wound,” said Bahan Rich, assistant special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation office in Thomasville. “The family of John Hester Sr., 68, notified them Mr. Hester had suffered a gunshot wound.”

Hester initially was transported to Colquitt Regional Medical Center and then to Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville, Rich said.

Colquitt County Coroner Verlyn Brock said that Hester was pronounced dead at 9:56 a.m. at Archbold.

“Ultimately, Mr. Hester died as a result of his gunshot wound,” Rich said.

The GBI believes that a member of the public may be able to help in solving the case.

“Prior to the shooting something (caused) Mr. Hester to retrieve one of his shotguns, leave his residence and walk down to the end of his driveway toward Highway 256,” Rich said. “Based on our investigation so far, we believe Mr. Hester discharged several rounds from his shotgun at either an individual or a vehicle.

“What we don’t know is any type of vehicle description or description of a person or why he felt the need to go out there and at that time of night.”

Rich said that people with information concerning a damaged car or a person who was struck by gunfire can notify law enforcement through his agency at (229) 225-4090, the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office at (229) 616-7430 or, after hours, Colquitt County 911. The latter has a non-emergency number of (229) 616-7470.

Hester’s slaying was the sixth in the county in 2015. It was the third slaying within a two-week period. Four of the six have occurred in Moultrie.

The body of Sylvester Ricky Hill, 58, was found at his residence in the 200 block of Arrowhead Lane on June 26 after he did not show up for work. No suspect has been charged and the GBI has not released the cause of death.

On June 21, 29-year-old Devin Devon Smith was fatally shot outside her apartment at Shy Manor, 821 Northside Drive.

Jamie Jermaine Stamper, 30, with whom Smith reportedly had a tumultuous relationship over the past several years, has been charged with murder in her death.