Five Charged After Teen Dies from Brutal Assault in Pearson

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has charged five individuals, including three minors, in connection with the death of Darion Davis, a 16-year-old from Pearson, Georgia. The charges stem from an alleged assault captured on video, in which Davis was beaten and struck multiple times with a pipe.

The accused include a 15-year-old from Pearson, charged with Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Aggravated Battery; a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old from Pearson, both charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Aggravated Battery; Verntron White, 17, of Pearson, also charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Aggravated Battery; and Ta’shunika Jones, 21, of Pearson, facing the same charges.

The investigation began on October 21, 2024, after the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI’s assistance following Davis’s death in a Savannah hospital. The assault allegedly occurred on October 12, and video evidence reportedly shows the suspects assaulting Davis, with the 15-year-old wielding a pipe.

White and Jones have been booked into the Atkinson County Jail, while the three juveniles are in the custody of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. An autopsy by the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Decatur, Georgia, will confirm the exact cause and manner of Davis’s death.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 422-3611 or the GBI’s regional investigative office in Douglas at (912) 389-4103. 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 the Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review and potential prosecution.