Police keeping mum about investigation of Athens teen's slaying

A memorial portait of Keyshawn Gainer that was posted on Facebook

By Joe Johnson

Four days after an Athens teen was fatally shot in a westside neighborhood, Athens-Clarke County police were not commenting about the investigation into the death of 15-year-old Keshawn Gainer.

Police on Monday would not say whether investigators had identified any suspects or determined possible motive for the boy's killing.

After checking with the commander of the Criminal Investigations Division, police Public Information Officer Capt. John Radford said, “Captain (Christopher) Nichols has given me no updates. They are still actively investigating this one and don’t want to comment.”

Gainer’s body was found Thursday morning at a fence in the wood line across the street from his home on Westchester Circle, with the fence located behind some apartments on Cole Manor Drive, according to a police incident report.

An officer described in the report that Gainer’s arms were extended out in front of him, as though he had been reaching for something.

He had a wound to the side of his neck that was described in the report as “a gouge,” in which muscle tissue was exposed.

The report noted that a bullet cartridge casing was located near the victim’s feet and another was found nearby at the crime scene.

A Crime Stoppers cash reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the person or persons responsible for Gainer’s death.

Anyone with information about this case is asked by police to contact Lt. David Norris at (762) 400-7165.

Anonymous calls can be made to the Crime Stoppers confidential tip line at (706) 705-4775.