GBI Investigates Death of Barnesville Man 

CORRECTION – September 26, 2023:

Hakim Wellmaker was outside a home when the two juveniles drove by and shot him. 

ORIGINAL RELEASE:

Milledgeville, GA (September 24, 2023) –  Two juveniles are in custody, charged with felony murder following the death of a Barneseville man.   

The Barnesville Police Department requested the GBI investigate the death of Hakim Wellmaker, age 17, on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at about 7:15 p.m. At about 6:25 p.m., the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office 911 center received a call about a man with a gunshot wound on Matthews Street in Barnesville, Georgia. When deputies and officers arrived, they discovered Wellmaker shot multiple times. Wellmaker was taken to the hospital where he later died.    

Preliminary information indicates that Wellmaker was driving the people that shot and killed him.   

Both juveniles are in custody at the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office.  

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Barnesville Police Department at 770-358-1234 or the GBI regional investigative office in Milledgeville at 478-445-4173.  Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app. 

Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be given to Towaliga District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.