17-Year-Old Jesua Garcia Perez and 28-Year-Old Javier Martinez Found Dead in Lilburn; 54-Year-Old Javier Aragon Ruiz Arrested in Tennessee

In a grim turn of events just before midnight last Friday, two young people from Norcross — 17-year-old Jesua Valesca Garcia Perez and 28-year-old Javier Hernandez Martinez — were discovered shot to death inside a car parked near Harbins Road and Harbins Point Lane, in unincorporated Lilburn, Georgia. Their apparent killer, 54-year-old Javier Aragon Ruiz, was apprehended hours later in Robertson County, Tennessee, after a multi-state law-enforcement effort led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Police say the violence began at around 10:00 p.m. at an apartment complex on Windscape Village Lane in Norcross, where officers responded to a report of a shooting. There, they discovered a man suffering a neck wound and a witness. As the initial call unfolded, investigators received word of a second scene — the Lilburn vehicle — where both Garcia Perez and Martinez lay fatally wounded.

Detectives believe all four people involved — the two victims in the car, the wounded man at the apartment scene, and another person targeted — were known associates of Aragon Ruiz. According to law enforcement, the tragedy escalated after an argument erupted inside the car; Aragon Ruiz allegedly opened fire on Garcia Perez and Martinez, killing them.

After the shootings, authorities say the suspect walked back to the Norcross apartment and attempted to shoot a woman identified as Soamia Garcia Perez — but the gun malfunctioned. Moments later, he allegedly stabbed a man, Jace Corley, inflicting a serious, potentially life-threatening neck wound. Aragon Ruiz fled the scene before officers arrived, triggering an urgent manhunt.

Law enforcement followed a trail leading out of Georgia. The Tennessee Highway Patrol, assisted by the Metro Nashville Police Department Aviation Unit and the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, located Aragon Ruiz’s vehicle traveling west on Interstate 24. Officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop after the suspect exited the freeway, taking him into custody without incident early Saturday morning.

Aragon Ruiz is currently held at the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, Tennessee. Authorities have not yet released the full list of charges he faces, nor provided an extradition timeline to Georgia.

Investigators say the motive remains under review. Detectives canvassed both locations, interviewed witnesses, and confirmed the two crime scenes were linked. Police urge anyone with information to contact the Gwinnett County Police Department or Crime Stoppers; tips may qualify for a reward.