GBI Arrests Ocilla Teen in Murder Investigation

Ocilla, Irwin County, Georgia (June 27, 2024) - The GBI has arrested and charged Earl Wilcox III age 16, of Ocilla, Irwin County, Georgia with 1 count of Felony Murder and 1 count of Aggravated Assault in connection to the shooting death of a 14-year-old Marcaulen Downs.

On Monday, June 24, 2024, at about 6:50 p.m., the Georgia Bureau of Investigation received a request for investigative assistance from the Ocilla Police Department in reference to a shooting involving a minor on Frank Road in Ocilla. Downs was taken to Irwin County Hospital for a gunshot wound & pronounced dead when he arrived.

Wilcox is being detained at a Regional Youth Detention Center.

This investigation is active and on going. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI regional investigative office in Perry at 478-987-4545. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to the Tift Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for prosecution.