Augusta man charged in 2023 murder of Wren's teen

WRENS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A 31-year-old man has been charged in connection with the 2023 murder of a 19-year-old in Wrens.

Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office say investigators, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, found Jessie Louis Brown Jr. of Augusta have been charged in the shooting death of 19-year-old Khia Shields.

The shooting occurred the morning of August 26, 2023 on Washington Street in Wrens.

Shields was sleeping in her mother’s house when a shot came through the wall and struck her.

She went into her mother’s room and said she had been shot in the chest.

She was transported to a hospital in Augusta, where she was pronounced dead.

Brown is being held in the Jefferson County Jail.

No more silence and an end to gun violence(WRDW/WAGT)

At the one-year anniversary of Shields’ death, her mother spoke of the outpouring of support, including the mayor and police chief of Wrens, who were there.

Shareka Pitts, Shields’ mother, said, “It means a lot. One phone call is everything: come out and speak.”

EARLIER NEWS 12 COVERAGE:

The pain hurts just as much as it did yesterday.

“It still hurts. It still hurts knowing that I have to get up every day and not see her or talk to her. It’s still a part. Painful memories are still painful to this day,” Pitts said.

There are still so many unanswered questions.

“If we get justice, after we get justice, I’m still going to lift her up. I’m still going to celebrate her, you know I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. This is a hard pill to swallow, you know, burying your own child,” Pitts said.

Pitts says she plans to open a scholarship in Sheilds’ name in the near future.

This is still an ongoing investigation and more arrests are expected, the sheriff’s office says.

Anyone with information about this case can call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 478-625-7538 or the GBI at 706-595-2575.