A custody exchange turned deadly June 16 when a McDonough man was shot in the parking lot of the Pilot Truck Stop in Morgan County.
According to Madison Police Detective Sgt. Wes Thompson, Charles Corbitt, 28, of Augusta, was arrested shortly after he allegedly shot Taylor Dickens, 32, of McDonough, four times with a .357 revolver.
The shooting happened near the front doors of the Pilot Truck Stop around 7:30 p.m., Thompson said.
The detective said authorities believe Corbitt arrived at the rest stop to facilitate the exchange of his daughter from Dickens and his wife Marren Dickens, the mother of the 7-year-old child. Thompson said an initial investigation revealed that Corbitt and Dickens engaged in a verbal argument during the exchange, which turned into a physical altercation. As the two men argued, he said, Marren Dickens walked the child back to a burgundy Kia that had two other toddlers inside.
After Dickens was shot, he fought his way back to the Kia, Thompson said, and Marren Dickens drove the family south on U.S. Highway 441 while she called 911 to report that her husband had been shot.
Morgan County Dispatch had received numerous calls from the busy Pilot Truck Stop reporting shots fired. The Kia was stopped by Morgan County Sheriff's Office deputies less than a block from Pilot on U.S. 441 in the road's turn lane in front of the Chevron Convenience Store. Officers began providing first aid to Dickens and an ambulance arrived shortly after the stop. Dickens was placed in the ambulance and transported to Morgan Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Thompson said the entire event, from the argument to the man's death, occurred in a period of about 30 minutes.
All four shots, Thompson said, hit Dickens.
Investigators, including members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, found two weapons at the scene. The .357 revolver allegedly used in the shooting was in Corbitt's vehicle. A second semi-automatic revolver was found on the ground near the scene of the altercation. No one else was injured in the shooting, Thompson said.
Previously, in September 2022, a report was filed with police that both men were involved in an argument during a custody exchange at the Pilot Truck Stop.
Corbitt remains incarcerated at the Morgan County Detention Center on murder and aggravated assault charges.
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