The quiet of a Friday evening in south Waycross was shattered shortly after 8:22 p.m. when gunfire erupted near the corner where Snelson Street meets Old Brunel Street. This stretch of modest homes, where neighbors typically gather as daylight fades, became the scene of a tragedy that would claim the life of a local man and send another to jail on murder charges.
Police arrived to find a man down in the roadway, multiple gunshot wounds marking his body. They moved quickly to seal off the area, preserving whatever evidence might tell the story of what happened. Medics worked over him there on the pavement, but their efforts proved futile. The victim, later identified as 35-year-old Jacob Garrett Cothern, died at the scene.
As officers secured the perimeter and began their work, they spotted a man nearby who seemed to be making an attempt to leave the area in haste. He was armed. Additional units converged on 29-year-old Brandon Dale Frick, taking him into custody without further incident. The quick apprehension, happening so close to the shooting location and time, gave detectives reason to believe they had their man.
By the time Frick was booked into the Ware County Jail, investigators had reviewed initial witness statements and physical evidence that cemented his connection to Cothern’s death. Formal murder charges followed. What exactly led to the shooting, whether the two men knew each other, or what circumstances brought them together at that intersection on a Friday night remain questions investigators are working to answer.
For those who lived nearby, the heavy police presence and yellow tape served as jarring reminders that violence can touch even the quietest streets. The Waycross Police Department continues to piece together the events, asking anyone who witnessed the shooting or has video from the area to come forward. They stress that this appears to be an isolated incident, with no ongoing threat to the community, though that offers little comfort to those mourning a man whose life ended too soon on a residential street in the city he called home.
The family, friends and the entire community of Waycross in Georgia are deeply devastated during this difficult time. Please, remember them in your prayers and you can also express your condolences in the comment section below.