Naman Shrestha
In Oxygen’s ‘The Real Murders of Atlanta: Officer Down,’ the primary focus is on the horrific and untimely killing of a young police officer named Aaron Blount, who had a bright future ahead of him. When a routine traffic stop turned into something deadly in Georgia in April 2003, the detectives worked tirelessly to catch the perpetrator responsible for the death of one of their own. The documentary features exclusive and insightful interviews with Aaron’s loved ones and officials who helped solve the case.
Aaron Blount Was Killed in the Line of Duty Two Months Before His Wedding
Renalda A. Blount gave birth to her beloved son, Aaron Jovon Blount Sr., on March 30, 1977, in Monterey County, California. Having a mother serving in the military, Aaron got to travel the world with her during his formative years. While being stationed at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, the mother and son duo decided to settle down in Atlanta and make it their home. He attended Westlake High School in Atlanta, where he was a crucial member of the school’s baseball, football, and track teams. After graduating in 1996, Aaron went to the Naval Prep School before getting accepted into the Coast Guard Academy.
For college, he attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. In December 2000, Aaron joined the Fulton County Police Department, assigned to the Evening Watch at the South Precinct. In his free time, he also coached a Youth Basketball Team at the Welcome All Park. By 2003, he had met the love of his life, with whom he shared a toddler son. The couple planned to make their relationship official in Las Vegas, Nevada, in June. Having just mailed the wedding invitations to their loved ones, a devastating tragedy befell the following day, on April 22, 2003.
Around 10 pm that night, Aaron was out on patrol when he spotted an out-of-control car. After stopping it at the intersection of Roosevelt Highway and Ben Hill Road in the Red Oak area, he was shot multiple times inside his patrol car. Another patrol officer spotted 26-year-old Aaron slumped over the steering wheel and notified the police department. When detectives rushed to the scene, they determined that he was shot in the head twice and once in the shoulder. The autopsy confirmed that the manner of death was homicide and the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. Immediately, a homicide investigation was launched to apprehend the perpetrator.
Aaron Blount’s Killer Was Apprehended in Another State
As part of the investigation, the authorities searched the area around the crime scene and talked to potential witnesses who might have seen the shooting of Aaron Blount. Their door-to-door canvas of the area led them to a witness who claimed to have details about the incident. Moreover, the detectives also found a 9mm handgun and some spent shell casings at a nearby gas station. Since the gun and shell casings didn’t match all the bullets found inside Aaron’s remains, it was concluded that the shooter used two different guns to commit the killing. The investigators also learned that the shooter drove a silver vehicle.
As they connected the small pieces of evidence, the police were led to a man named Kenneth Gerald Reese, who had fled to Miami, Florida, after killing Aaron. Within the next five days, he was tracked down and arrested at a Greyhound bus station in downtown Miami on the afternoon of April 27, 2003, by US Marshals and Miami-Dade police officers. As per reports, during the interrogation, he admitted to ambushing Aaron at the gas station after getting pulled over in the Red Oak area. Kenneth was then transferred to Fulton County and charged with capital murder.
Kenneth Gerald Reese is Currently Incarcerated at a Georgia Prison
Several years later, in the fall of 2008, Kenneth Gerald Reese underwent a psychiatric evaluation after the defense lawyer intended to present a mental health defense. His defense counsel claimed that the defendant had been taking a diet drug, which caused him to carry out the senseless killing of Aaron Blount. They said that his drug contained ephedra, a banned drug that could cause aggravating existing psychosis when taken in larger doses.
On the other hand, the prosecution argued that Kenneth was sane at the time of the crime because he knew right from wrong. A psychiatrist hired by the defense also backed them by saying that the defendant’s psychosis was caused by a malfunctioning front lobe, likely caused by the diet drug. Finally, on January 13, 2009, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder to avoid the death penalty. In exchange, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of today, the 49-year-old killer is serving his sentence at the Augusta State Medical Prison in Grovetown, Georgia.
Read More: Stephanie Ducheine Murder: Where is Michael Darnell Horton Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.