Police Officer Marvin Jesse Gravitt

Marvin Jesse Gravitt

Police Officer Marvin Gravitt, Police Officer Jerry Everett, and Police Officer Ralph Davis were shot and killed after responding to a suspicious activity call on Arc Way, in Norcross. Officer Everett and Officer Davis were riding together and driving Officer Gravitt home after he had become ill.

During the drive, they responded to the call and encountered several subjects stripping a vehicle of parts. Nearby citizens reported hearing what they believed to be firecrackers going off and a search of the area the next day turned up the officers' patrol vehicle. Their bodies were found in a wooded area a short distance away, all handcuffed together, and shot a total of 14 times.

Three suspects were arrested several weeks later, one of whom was an ex-Gwinnett County deputy sheriff who knew the officers. One was granted immunity after agreeing to testify against the other two. They were both sentenced to death but later had their sentences commuted to life in prison. One was paroled in 1989. The ex-deputy died in prison in May 2016.