Magic 95 Entertainment’s Urban AC WGOV-AM Valdosta, GA has lost one of its own. The search continues for a gunman who killed Stephon Edgerton, known on-air as Juan Gatti the night of 1/20.
The station was closed for the night with operations running on automation, said Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine, who was on the scene. The 911 center received a call at 11:53 p.m. from the victim himself, Deputy Coroner Walter Wacter told The Valdosta Daily Times: “He called 911 himself and gave a description of the shooter.”
The victim was reportedly shot once in the head and twice in the torso. He described the shooter as a white male wearing a white skull cap or face mask, Prine said.
He was a married father of three and had worked at WGOV for six years, reportedly working the night shift for the last three months.
The sheriff’s department, crime scene techs and the Georgia State Patrol were out in force around midnight Friday at 2973 U.S. 84 West, which is a combined facility for radio stations WGOV, WAAC and WLYX.
Edgerton was taken by ambulance to South Georgia Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 12:53 a.m.
Sheriff’s department K9 dogs were in action in the fields surrounding the station past midnight Friday night and Saturday morning; the dogs tracked the assailant as far as a nearby power line, the sheriff said. Across U.S. 84, investigators could see where a car had pulled off about three-quarters of a mile from the station, he said.
“We think (the shooter) got in a car and headed east,” Prine said.
Investigators found a soda can, a small bag of chips, and “what appeared to be a small amount of drugs” outside the station. The investigation is ongoing.
