Harrington Awaits Sentencing In Raymonia Shooting Death
A local man awaits sentencing after he was found guilty December 3 in Toombs County Superior Court of three of five charges connected to a 2018 shooting death at Raymonia Apartments in Vidalia.
Malique Rheem Harrington, Jr., was charged with felony and malice murder in the death of Jerry Clark, Jr. Harrington was also charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and tampering with evidence.
When officers with the Vidalia Police Department responded to Raymonia Apartments at 1208 Easter Drive around 1:07 a.m. on May 10, 2018, they found 21-yearold Clark lying on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to Meadows Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.
Harrington fled the area after the shooting and turned himself in to continued from page
the Acworth Georgia Police Department about a week later. He was returned to Toombs County and booked into the Detention Center.
Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tripp Fitzner said that Harrington was initially given immunity in the case, but that immunity was not finalized by Superior Court Judge Kathy Palmer. Later, Judge Bobby Reeves reviewed the case and decided to proceed and bring the case to court.
Fitzner said that although Harrington wasn’t found guilty of either of the murder charges, he could still face a sentence of 30 years in prison on the three charges of which he was convicted. His sentencing is scheduled for December 20.
Additionally, since his incarceration at the Toombs County Detention Center, Harrington has also been charged with three counts of rioting in a penal institution, as well as the unauthorized possession of a weapon by an inmate. He was denied bond on all of those charges. At the time of the 2018 shooting, Harrington was 19, and had a previous criminal record for theft by taking and theft by shoplifting.
The incident was investigated by the Vidalia Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
