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Published Saturday, November 15, 2008 in Local

Police: Carjacking suspect surrenders

From news staff

and wire reports

A Palmetto man -- Kealy Williams, 26 -- turned himself in Friday night in connection with the slaying of an Ohio man at a car wash in Fairburn on Thursday, authorities said.

The slain Ohio man -- Terrence Harris, 41 -- had made a 700-mile drive to Georgia to bury his father, who had died last week.

Harris had been in Fairburn for a few days helping his mother and other family members make funeral arrangements. On Thursday, Harris wanted to get out of the house and took his father's car to get washed. There, he was shot and killed by a carjacker.

When Williams turned himself in to police, he told investigators he was unaware he had shot Harris until seeing news reports, said Fairburn Detective Charles Israel.

Williams was jailed on a murder charge pending a hearing Saturday.

Israel said Williams told authorities he was trying to get the victim out of the car and allegedly "pulled the trigger trying to scare him" with a warning shot. Israel gave no further details of Williams' account and said he didn't have a lawyer yet.

Harris was gunned down at the Golden Shine Car Wash, where he was cleaning the green Cadillac his father used to drive. A relative with him was not injured.

Acting on an anonymous tip, authorities found the car early Friday in Coweta County. The car was found on Canongate Road at River Birch Way, which is one of the entrances to the Estates at Persimmon Creek Subdivision. That location is about three-fourths of a mile off Interstate 85, exit 56, and about six miles from where the shooting took place.

Harris, whom everyone called "Chub," was described as a family man and amateur grill master. He went to school in Atlanta in the 1980s and had more recently been working as a debris hauler in Shaker Heights, Ohio, near Cleveland.

Harris arrived in Georgia last weekend after his father, Major McDonald, died of kidney ailments.

"They had been in the house for a few days making plans," Harris' aunt said. "He got cabin fever (and) wanted to get out of the house."

Before heading to the car wash, Harris stopped by Wal-Mart with a cousin in the car. There, they bumped into his mom and other family out running their own errands.

"They said they were going around the corner to rinse off the car, and they would be off to the next thing," Yvette Harris said. "Just in that split few minutes, this happened."

Police said the suspect approached the men and demanded their vehicle. Both men claimed not to have the keys, and Harris was shot, his body thrown out of the car. Harris said her nephew tried to stand up but stumbled. By the time he was airlifted to a hospital, Harris had lost too much blood.

Harris' father was buried Saturday.

The family is still making funeral arrangements for Harris.