Augusta Fire official named after running over dead body at mass shooting scene

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – New details were released in the deadly motorcycle club shooting in Richmond County.

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One of the 12 suspects hospitalized now sits in jail.

Meanwhile, police are also looking deeper into a first responder who ran over one of the dead victims with his work SUV. We now know his name and more about what lead to the incident.

“We didn’t know that trouble was coming to our city. We didn’t know trouble was already in our city,” Sheriff Richard Roundtree said Monday.

Fallout from two motorcycle clubs being called a gang rivalry.

31-year-old Jonathan Keaton, who the sheriff’s office labels as a Thug Riders member out of Florida, is out of the hospital and in jail. He is one of 12 suspects arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault in the motorcycle gang rivalry that played out at the headquarters of the Outcast Motorcycle Club at Sand Bar Ferry Road and East Boundary Saturday night.

Also in the spotlight, a first responder who arrived to render aid to the victims.

“He was clearing the area to get his car out so emergency vehicles could come in and did not see the individual as he was coming off of his path. He had rushed to the scene, parked his vehicle to render aid and both of those victims were deceased,” the sheriff stated.

The victims are 30-year-old Keith Coates and 51-year-old Germayne Farrell. We now know that one of the first responders, 52-year-old Battalion Chief Gregory Hartshorne, determined Farrell was dead. As he entered his fire department SUV near West Chatham Emergency Lighting off Prep Phillips Drive, a traffic report states he failed to see Farrell lying at the edge of the parking lot. Hartshorne stated the vehicle’s hood and fender obscured his vision and he misjudged the location of the dead body. The report goes on to say that the driver, Hartshorne, had a contributing factor of misjudging clearance in the accident. The report also has a graphic showing how Hartshorne’s vehicle dragged the victim about 50 feet.

Traffic report from Richmond County Sheriff’s Office

“It was a freak accident,” Roundtree stated. “I know how the internet makes it seem horrific, but it was an accident and I feel emotionally for that fire personnel, what they’re going through, but it was just an unfortunate accident.”

Little is known about Hartshorne. And a spokesperson from Augusta Fire released the following statement when asked about the incident.

“Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, unfortunately it will be inappropriate for Augusta Fire Department to provide any remarks at this juncture.”CHIQUITA RICHARDSON
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

NewsChannel 6 did learn that Hartshorne was booked into Columbia County jail on March 30 and received just a mug shot from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office on the incident, which was handled by Harlem Police.