In the early hours of Friday, April 3, 2026, a routine maintenance task in Rossville, Walker County, Georgia, turned deadly when an argument between two men escalated into gun violence. Jerry Hightower, a 59-year-old maintenance worker, was shot and killed during the incident, authorities say.
According to Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, deputies were called to the 1100 block of Ridgewood Street around 9:05 p.m. after reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, first responders located Hightower lying unresponsive in a front yard — he had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses at the scene quickly pointed law enforcement to a possible suspect, who was reportedly sitting on the porch of a nearby house directly across the street from where the shooting occurred. Deputies took the individual into custody without incident.
The suspect has been identified as James Richard Nowlin, a 49‑year-old man from the same neighborhood. Based on the preliminary investigation, authorities believe the confrontation began as a dispute over a bright work light that Hightower had set up while performing maintenance work. The light was reportedly shining toward Nowlin’s home, leading to tensions between the two men prior to the shooting.
Investigators say Hightower did not live on Ridgewood Street; he was there in a professional capacity to carry out maintenance work. At some point during the evening, an argument broke out between him and Nowlin regarding the light, and that argument is believed to have led directly to the fatal shooting.
Nowlin was arrested at the scene and transported to the Walker County Jail, where he is facing a murder charge in connection with Hightower’s death. No additional information about a possible motive beyond the dispute over the work light has been released by law enforcement, and it remains unclear whether Nowlin has made any formal statements or entered a plea.
Local authorities have indicated that the investigation is ongoing, and they are working to gather more details about both the victim and the circumstances leading up to the shooting. Family members of Hightower, as well as neighbors, have not yet publicly commented about the tragedy, but the community is grappling with the sudden and violent loss of a man described by officials simply as someone doing his job when events turned fatal.
As this remains an active law enforcement investigation, additional developments — including court proceedings and a more thorough account of events — may emerge in the coming days and weeks.
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