A Valdosta man was arrested for various charges after discharging a gun inside a residence, including six third-degree counts of cruelty to children.
From the Valdosta Police Department:
On September 21, 2024, at approximately 1:05 pm., Valdosta Police Officers responded to a residence in the 1700 block of Clover Drive after E911 received several calls about gunshots in the area. As officers arrived in the area, they observed several bullet holes in the side of the residence. Officers immediately checked for anyone who may have been injured, but no injuries were found. Further investigation by the officers revealed that the gunshots appeared to have been shot from the inside of the residence.
As officers began to talk to the complainant who called E911 and confronted her with the evidence showing the gun was shot from inside the house, she told them that Clayton Cox, 29 years of age, was in the house with the firearm. She stated that subjects had come to the front door and began to bang on it when Cox retrieved a gun and started shooting at the front door.
While Cox was recklessly shooting the gun, there were six children in the house, under the age of 14. The complainant told officers that Cox was hiding in the house. Officers went into the residence and called out to Cox several times while searching the residence. Officers contacted Cox and took him into custody. Officers found the gun that Cox had had when he shot.
Cox was transported to Lowndes County Jail and is facing the following charges:
~Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon-felony;
~Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony-felony;
~Tampering with evidence-felony;
~Reckless conduct-misdemeanor; and
~6 counts of Cruelty to children 3rd degree-misdemeanor.
Officers located the subjects who were knocking on the front door when Cox shot the firearm, they were not injured and did not want to prosecute.
“Our officers did a great job noticing that the evidence did not match what they were told. Due to their thorough investigation, they were able to quickly identify who shot the gun. We are very lucky that someone, especially a child, did not get injured during this reckless act.” Said Chief Leslie Manahan.
If anyone has any further information on this case or any other cases, please contact the Valdosta Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services at 229-293-3145, the crime tip line at 229-293-3091, or file a tip online at www.valdostacity.com/police-department.
