By Joe Johnson
Jeffrey Scott Tate over the years demonstrated the same propensity for violence against women that on Sunday drove him to kill a woman who only a month earlier announced her engagement to him.
“This time I ask Scott Tate he said yes,” Shelby Cox said in July 9 post on her Facebook page.
Thirty-three days later, she was dead — killed when police say Scott intentionally ran her down with an SUV as Shelby waited at an Atlanta Highway bus stop.
Tate fled the scene but was later found in Watkinsville and arrested for murder, felony hit and run and reckless driving.
He is being detained at the county jail without bail.
At the time of this incident, Tate was under a 2022 indictment for domestic violence against another woman — his wife, Sharlyn Tate.
According to court documents, Tate had assaulted Sharlyn with a knife at her home on Jade Drive.
The woman feared for her life, an indictment indicates, as Tate held a knife against her and made threats.
Tate was indicted on charges of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, and third-degree cruelty to children. According to the indictment, Tate damaged a wall in Sharlyn’s home during the incident which was witnessed by Tate’s juvenile grandson.
After he was arrested, Tate was released from custody when Sharlyn guaranteed his bond by offering as collateral property she owns in Watkinsville.
That criminal case was still pending when Tate killed Cox.
That wasn’t the first time Tate’s behavior with women got him in trouble with the law.
He was arrested in 2017 for a domestic violence incident in which he set a fire outside of the Jade Drive residence and pointed a rifle at his wife and juvenile family members.
According to court and police records, Tate had been drinking when he became angry with Sharlyn over some auto parts she picked up for him on the way home from work.
During an ensuing argument Tate poured gasoline on the grass in the yard and set it on fire. He also pointed a rifle at his wife and two juvenile family members.
An indictment charged Tate with multiple counts of aggravated assault, reckless conduct, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and simple assault.
In accordance with a negotiated agreement with prosecutors, Tate pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of pointing a gun at another person and was sentenced to 36 months on probation with the condition he received family violence and alcohol abuse counseling.
A separate 2017 criminal case which arose from Tate throwing a watermelon through the front glass door of the home on Jade Drive was dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence.
Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and support services by calling Project Safe's 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe. org
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