JONES COUNTY, Ga. — Three days after Jada Simmons was shot and killed at a party in Jones County, investigators say they've now arrested two people in connection to her death. Investigators say they couldn't have done it without help from the public.
"It's never good when you have to tell a mother or aunt or uncle or anybody of that nature that their 20-year-old niece or daughter or anything like that has passed from a reckless gunman," Jones County investigator John Simmons says.
John Simmons was one of the officers on the scene early Sunday morning when Jada Simmons was killed at a house party.
He says it took almost two days to get tips from witnesses, but the cooperation is what ultimately led them to a suspect.
"It's very imperative that we have people speak on these matters because it helps speed along the case before anybody else gets hurt," he says.
The alleged shooter is 26-year-old Jeremy Butts from Milledgeville, but their hunt for him brought them thousands of miles away, to a city Butts once called home.
"Just going back and forth, people talking about he had just left town, doing some research on him and hearing that he had once served in El Paso, Texas, in the military," says Simmons.
Butts was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals on Tuesday afternoon, and hours later, his sister, Cierra Butts, turned herself in.
She was charged with hindering the apprehension of a criminal, and Sheriff Butch Reece says she was named as the person who took Jeremy to the airport shortly after the shooting.
Simmons says even with the alleged shooter in custody, the investigation is far from over.
"There's plenty more work to do, it's never over."
Simmons says Butts should be extradited back here to Jones County within the next week or so.
Simmons adds that the home where the party happened was being rented out for the night by a group in Milledgeville.
He also encourages anyone with additional tips or information to come forward.