The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Man indicted in killing of store clerk over mask
He faces six charges in incident that also hurt reserve deputy.
A Dekalb County grand jury has indicted the man accused of killing a grocery store clerk following a dispute over a face mask.
Victor Lee Tucker Jr., 30, of Palmetto was indicted earlier this month on six charges, including malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated assault against a public safety officer and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, court records show.
On June 14, Tucker initially left the Big Bear Supermarket without making a purchase, but he returned a
short time later with a gun, according to investigators. Tucker then shot and killed Laquitta Willis before getting into a shootout with a reserve deputy working security at the store, police said.
“Tucker walked directly back to the cashier, pulled out a handgun and shot her,” the GBI said after the incident.
Willis, who had worked at the store for more than a decade, died from her injuries. She was 41. Two days after her death, customers, friends and family members gathered in the Big Bear parking lot for a candlelight vigil to honor her.
The deputy, 54-year-old Danny Jordan, was shot twice but survived. He was among those who attended the vigil.
“People can call me crazy, but I think the good still outweighs the bad. I think there’s a lot more good people out here that are really sick and tired of what’s going on,” he said at the time. “At some point, we’ve got to quit accepting violence. We cannot keep accepting this.”
Tucker was also shot but was taken into custody at the scene. On June 18, he was released from the hospital and booked into the Dekalb jail, where he is being held without bond.
Tucker is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 19, according to online court records.