Clayton News Daily

By Daniel Silliman

dsilliman@news-daily.com

A 23-year-old man was shot to death on Christmas eve, after reportedly arguing with two men outside his Riverdale-area apartment.

Police believe the shooting of Elijah Ladale Richburg was drug-related, Capt. Greg Dickens said.

Richburg reportedly got into a fight with two unidentified men outside his 5758 Ga. Highway 85 residence, retreated inside and was then shot a little before 2:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 24.

Officer Tony Griffin arrived to find Richburg lying on the floor of his Laurel Park Apartments home, with gunshot wounds to his chest.

He had been shot multiple times. One bullet had grazed the front door, hit the ceiling fan in the living room, and lodged in an upstairs kitchen, Griffin wrote in his police report.

Searching the kitchen, Griffin found "a large amount of cash in the kitchen drawer... a measuring scale with a razor blade on it" on top of the counter top, and .38-caliber gun lying on the living room floor by the front door.

Richburg was transported to Southern Regional Medical center and was pronounced dead a little before 3 p.m.

Doctors at the hospital told police they found suspected crack cocaine in the dead man's pocket.

Griffin found four witnesses to the shooting, including three people who lived in Richburg's apartment. The witnesses said two men, described as black men in their 20s, were involved in the fight with Richburg and were spotted leaving the scene in a white, Chevrolet Lumina.

Detectives are looking for the men in the car, Dickens said. Anyone who knows about the shooting or the two men in the car -- Georgia license plate AHE-6463 -- is asked to call police at (770) 477-3614.