Man accused of killing GA high school football player captured 1 year later

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — U.S Marshals have taken a man into custody one year after a Georgia high school football player was gunned down near his home.

Brunswick High School running back Mykal Ellis was shot and killed on his way home from football practice in June 2023. Police said he was an innocent bystander that got caught in the crossfire.

“Just a great intelligent young man, caregiver, just cared about everyone that he hung around. Was never a troublemaker,” his brother Syveion Ellis told Channel 2′s sister station Action News Jax.

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Investigators identified Breon Hartley as a suspect and arrested one of his associates Diandra Hightower.

Hartley remained on the run until Thursday when U.S. Marshals took him into custody in Jacksonville. He will be extradited back to Glynn County where he will faces murder and possession of a firearm charges.

“Almost a year ago, when he was taken from us, I made a promise to his mother, Ms. Kim, that we would not rest until we brought those responsible to justice. In that time our Brunswick Police Department along with adjacent agencies have worked day and night to ensure we kept that promise,” Brunswick Mayor Cosby Johnson said in a statement.

“Ms. Kim asked me one day to ensure his name was never forgotten, no matter how long it took to bring justice. Well today, we showed a region and State, that our children are precious and worth fighting for with all we have. Today, his name brought all of us together,” Johnson added.

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