Samuel Jackson, a former head basketball coach at Fort Valley State University, an HBCU, and boys’ basketball coach at Headland High School in Georgia, was found shot to death in Atlanta on January 29. His wife had reported him missing on January 27, a day after he left their home to deliver food for Uber Eats.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, although there is not much information being provided by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, the death of the 59-year-old Jackson is being investigated as a homicide.
Jackson’s son, Desmond Jackson, indicated via his comments to WGXA that he used his knowledge of geolocation technology embedded in Gmail to track the location of his father’s phone to Bolton Road in Atlanta after he went missing and law enforcement gave him few details on the case.
“His phone pinged in Atlanta, [law enforcement] weren’t able to give exact details,” Desmond said. “Since then, I was able to get into his Gmail just to pull up his location history and it shows his phone; his Gmail, or his phone was there off Bolton Road.”
On Jan. 29, the Atlanta Police Department was asked to investigate a lead that Jackson, the coach, may have been near Donald Lee Parkway, and once they thoroughly searched the area, they discovered a man matching the description of Jackson who had been shot to death; their suspicions were later confirmed by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, who informed WXGA
that Jackson had been identified as the victim.Per Fox 5 Atlanta, there is much concerning Jackson’s disappearance and subsequent death that remains a mystery, including how he went from Peach County, Georgia, where Headland is located, to Atlanta, which are about an hour and a half away from each other by car.
According to the initial press release from the Atlanta Police Department, “Homicide detectives will be working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. The investigation continues.”
In a subsequent update to the press release, authorities identified a 30-year-old man who requested the delivery on the night Jackson was allegedly killed, Iquane Brown, as a person of interest in the case.
“Atlanta Police have identified the individual who
ordered the rideshare in Houston County as 30-year-old Iquane Brown, as a person of interest. Brown is currently in custody in the Houston County Jail on an unrelated robbery charge out of Warner Robins,’ the update stated.Jackson’s family and community leaders in Headland noted the tremendous impact Jackson had on his community, describing him as someone who would give the shirt off his back if someone was in need.
Jackson’s brother, whom WTVY did not identify beyond that description, gave a statement to the outlet.
“He would give you anything that you need, anything that you asked for. He would definitely give you a long drawn out speech and you would have enjoyed that speech because he was one that always found humor in everything that he did.”
Headland’s Interim Mayor Jody Singleton also told the outlet that the community is in mourning over Jackson’s tragic death.
“We in Headland all have heavy hearts with what we’ve learned has occurred with our beloved citizen, and prior coach and great athlete Sammy Jackson,” Singleton said.
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