Local News
Rockland Apartment Shooting (Macon Telegraph)
40-year-old Macon resident, Milton Stephens, Jr., was fatally shot in his Rockland Apartment home Monday, August 18, 2014.
The Macon Telegraph reports, the body of Milton Stephens, Jr. was discovered by a friend just inside his ground floor apartment around 9:45am Monday morning. Mr. Stephens, who suffered from diabetes and was nearly blind, was apparently shot in the chest hours earlier.
Several neighbors in the Rockland Apartments community heard gunshots in the early pre-dawn hours, a sound that has become all too familiar to residents.
“I told my husband, ‘I’m so tired of hearing shooting around here,’” reported one neighbor.
Neighbor Shirley Sinclair told media, “It’s surprising it happened to him, but it’s not surprising someone got shot out here.”
Friends and family remember Mr. Stephens as a “fun-loving” man who would help anyone. “He was just the guy in the neighborhood who’s always sitting out…really nice, ” remembers James Benefield. The Macon community is now seeking answers and justice in his murder, calling his attacker a “coward” and demanding an end to the local violence.
Our Legal Take
As police continue to search for a suspect, The Murray Law Firm is questioning whether another party also holds responsibility in this tragedy, the owner and management of Rockland Apartments.
What efforts have been made to improve apartment complex security following the previous reports of gunshots in the community?
How did the gunman gain access to the property? What access-controls and crime deterrents, such as security gates and fencing, security and police patrols, ID card systems, surveillance cameras, motion detectors, and bright lighting, were in place and working at the time of the shooting?
Mr. Stephens was shot hours before his body was discovered. Where was apartment security during this critical time lapse?
What security measures, such as deadbolts, peep holes, alarms, and security latches, are in place to protect ground floor residents?
Apartment owners are required by Georgia law to protect residents from foreseeable harm. Should an apartment complex owner and manager have knowledge of previous crime on or near property, they have a duty to take extraordinary security precautions to protect residents and deter future crime.
Should the owner and management of Rockland Apartments have failed in their duty to protect Milton Stephens, Jr., his family may elect to hold the complex civilly liable in his wrongful death. Claims of this magnitude, potentially in the millions of dollars, would demand Rockland Apartments and other Macon apartment complexes finally make resident safety their first priority. Such claims will also call on local officials and law enforcement to oversee and enforce safety in this community. Perhaps, through these legal claims, other lives may be spared.
The Murray Law Firm works tirelessly to protect victims of apartment violence and property negligence. We offer our legal expertise, if needed. Anyone seeking further information or legal representation is encouraged to contact us at 478.246.1010.
