DUBLIN, Ga. — It's been more than five years, but in Dublin, one family is still grieving their loved one who was shot to death in 2019.
The man charged with his murder, Jaswain Bell, was never indicted, according to the clerk of the courts.
Last month, Bell was charged with murder again, in a separate shooting on Easter Sunday in Dublin. That most recent shooting killed two and injured five others.
McKerick Guyton was 28 years old when he was shot while getting a ride home from a friend on the corner of North Calhoun Street and Sunset Drive. At the time, Dublin Police said two others were also injured.
Guyton's girlfriend, Bridgett Lewis, said she's been trying for over five years to make sense of the day she lost him.
"When I speak about him, I don't speak about him in a past tense. You know cause, that's just- I just can't," Lewis said.
Lewis said Guyton was in the wrong place at the wrong time that day. She said the shots were meant for someone else in the car.
Guyton had four children, and he shared two daughters with Lewis.
"They remember him playing with them, dancing, playing the video games. You know, things like that. And I feel like you know, that's the best thing he could've done for them," Lewis said.
She said Guyton had an outgoing, funny personality and the shooting robbed so many people of a light in their lives.
"He was a good friend. A good boyfriend. A good brother, son. You know, so he's a good all-around person. Nobody had anything bad to say about him," Lewis said.
Recently, her pain has only grown. When she saw Bell was arrested again for a shooting last month, she felt like salt was being poured on her wound.
"When his name came up, I was shocked. You know, cause it's just- how dare you? What makes you feel like you can just do this?" she said.
She mourns that Guyton never got the chance to see his girls grow up, and while she said she's forgiven Bell, she now she wants justice more than ever.
"The world has moved on, especially with, I feel like nothing has been done. You know, the person that did it was just set free. To you know, do it again. And it was like his life didn't matter," Lewis said.
According to the Laurens County Superior Court Clerk's office, Bell was never indicted in that 2019 shooting. They told us the case is still before the District Attorney's Office. We reached out to District Attorney Craig Fraser to find out more about the case. So far, we have not heard back from him.