UPDATE: Homicide investigation continues

Published 1:13 pm Thursday, March 28, 2019

VALDOSTA — The East Moore Street homicide is still under investigation, according to the Valdosta Police Department.

The victim of the East Moore Street homicide was Xzavier Lazier Haggins, 36, police report.

He was found unresponsive in a vehicle when Valdosta police officers responded to reports of gunshots along the 600 block of East Moore Street and a vehicle accident at the 300 block of East Moore Street around 2:21 a.m. Saturday, according to a Valdosta Police Department report released earlier this week.

Haggins was inside of the small vehicle, which appeared to have lost control just before striking a power pole and power transformer box. Police said there was evidence “that he may have been shot.”

Georgia Power had to ensure the scene was safe from electricity before Emergency Medical Services checked Haggins and found no signs of life, according to the VPD’s report.

He was confirmed deceased by the Lowndes County deputy coroner, police said. His death would later be ruled a homicide by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Crime Laboratory’s medical examiner.

The VPD report did not reveal any information on a suspect and said it is “not releasing any specifics of the case due to the ongoing investigation.”

The vehicle was towed to the Valdosta Lowndes Regional Crime Laboratory, “where it could be processed for evidence in a controlled environment.”

The VPD report asks if anyone has any information on this case, contact the VPD Investigations Bureau, (229) 293-3145.

This is the second reported homicide in Valdosta for 2019, with the first homicide taking place Jan. 8 at 2 Meadow Run Circle.

The suspects, Haley Jerrod Grant, 21, and Kievon Hundley, 24, of Valdosta surrendered days later in connection with the shooting death of Christian Jacobi Thomas, 20, of Valdosta. They each faced felony murder charges, police said.

Last year, there were three homicides, which is down from the nine reported homicides in 2017.

Katelyn Umholtz is a reporter with the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256.