MACON, Ga. — Two men have been charged with aggravated assault after a shooting at a homeless camp in Macon in May.
According to a news release, the investigation began when investigators were in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office annex and heard gunshots from a homeless camp on Riverside Drive.
As deputies were on their way there, they saw two men getting into a car parked at the entrance of the camp. Patrol deputies later found the car on Walnut Street, near Spring Street.
Investigators checked on people camping at the scene and found that a man’s leg had been grazed by a bullet. He declined medical attention.
The two people in the vehicle were identified by deputies as 53-year-old Ricky Veal and 64-year-old Larry Tarver. The sheriff’s office says two guns were found in the car, and the two men were taken to the jail to be interviewed before being charged.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors say the men "have been demanding cash and sex after providing homeless people with beer, cigarettes or marijuana."
Tarver is free on bail, but a judge denied bail to Veal in a Thursday hearing, according to the AP.
The shooting near the Ocmulgee River. Veal’s attorney, C. Alan Wheeler, says Veal "maintains his innocence."