ATLANTA, Ga. — A Georgia law maker honored a slain tire shop owner March 3, less than a week after he was killed at his business by an employee.
Maurice Davis, 56, owner of J.M.R. New & Used Tires, 2995 Jonesboro Road SE, was one of two men fatally shot Feb. 27.
Democratic State Rep. Kim Schofield remembered Davis during a brief speech on the floor of the legislature.
Davis was a man with "a huge heart, an immeasurable helping hand and a strong love for his community" that he showed through his tire business, she said.
He was killed by a "person he was helping turn his life around in the right direction," Schofield said. "Maurice was always extending an olive branch to help others."
Jeremiah Saunders, one of Davis' 12 children, said he has taken over the business his father started more than a decade ago.
"I'm living my dad's legacy," he told Tire Business, while busily handling customers.
Saunders, 25, started working with his father almost three years ago.
His father would often work on a car and accept what the customer could give him, with a promise to pay the balance later, but he didn't worry if they were going to pay or not, Saunders said.
"He was a very genuine person, you know, he cared for the whole neighborhood," Saunders said. "That's all we did up here. You know, we looked out for people."
Saunders said his father was killed during a dispute with Roderick Hunter, a man his father tried to help by giving a job.
Saunders said he shot and killed Hunter in self-defense after Hunter shot his father.
Atlanta police continue to investigate the incident. They have said responding officers found two men who had been shot. One was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
Officer John Predmore, Atlanta Police Department public information officer, said he couldn't release further details while the investigation was pending, but he said the incident was being investigated as a homicide and "a felon killed by private citizen." In Georgia, the latter designation is applied to justifiable homicides.
During her speech, Schofield, the state representative, said she had wanted to honor Davis with a resolution for his service to the community and regretted missing the opportunity while he was alive.
She said she last saw him about two weeks earlier when he put air in her tires.
"To the community, it's tough," Schofield said, "but we'll heal together, as we will truly miss a servant and friend to most."
