SAVANNAH — Two suspects have been arrested in connection with a series of shootings in Savannah this month.
Detectives with The Savannah Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Impact Investigations Team identified 18-year-old Jhaquez Stamper, 17-year-old Mykel Banks as suspects in the shootings. Both suspects are facing two counts of aggravated assault.
Stamper is also facing multiple traffic charges.
According to police, officers responded to the 600 block of E. 38th Street at about 3 p.m. Nov. 16 for a ShotSpotter alert and discovered multiple shell casings and vehicles that had been damaged by gunfire. About 30 minutes later, officers responded to another ShotSpotter alert in the 2200 block of Harden Street after multiple shots were fired. Several vehicles were struck. A 27-year-old female later arrived at the hospital suffering from non-life threatening injuries as a result of the shooting.
The following day at about 8:30 p.m. officers responded to the 2000 block of Atlantic Avenue for a ShotSpotter alert with multiple shots fired. An officer, who was in the area and heard the shots, was able to quickly respond and see a vehicle fleeing from the area at a high rate of speed. The officer attempted a traffic stop but the vehicle escaped. The vehicle was later found abandoned. An 18-year-old female was later dropped off at the hospital after suffering non-life threatening injuries during that shooting.
Earlier this month, Chief Roy Minter activated the department’s new Impact Investigations Team in response to violence across the city. The team uses the skillsets of officers located in several areas of the department in order to put a greater amount of focus and investigative resources on shooting investigations and suspects who are potentially involved in multiple violent incidents.
“These arrests illustrate the hard work of our detectives and specialized units,” Minter said. “Rest assured, we are putting all our resources toward the violent crime that is occurring and are putting an emphasis on bringing the suspects involved in these incidents to justice. If you are illegally carrying or carelessly firing a weapon in Savannah streets, putting others’ lives and property in jeopardy, then we are putting all our focus toward coming after you. We encourage the public to also report any activity that could be suspicious or criminal in nature to the department to further assist with these investigations.”
All three incidents remain under active investigation.
Anyone with information on the incidents should call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at (912) 525-3124 or Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020. Tipsters remain anonymous. Tips can also be submitted through a CrimeStoppers online tip portal at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=757. Tipsters may qualify for a reward up to $2,500, depending on the severity of the crime. More information on the process of submitting a tip and how rewards are processed can be viewed at http://www.savannahchathamcrimestoppers.org/About_Us.cfm
