RIVERDALE, Ga. — A brief encounter in a restaurant parking lot turned deadly after police say a man was punched by a stranger and died.
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Riverdale officers responded around 9 p.m. on June 9 to a report of a person down outside a restaurant in the 6300 block of Georgia Highway 85. When they arrived, they found Charles Chandler lying unresponsive in the parking lot.
According to police, Chandler had been involved in an encounter with an unknown man moments earlier. During that interaction, police say the suspect punched Chandler, causing him to fall and hit his head on the concrete.
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The suspect then drove away from the scene in a maroon Dodge Challenger, leaving Chandler unconscious, police said.
Chandler was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he initially was listed as stable but remained unconscious. Three days later, police learned Chandler had died from the injuries he suffered in the fall.
Following an investigation, detectives identified the suspect as Calvin Edwards.
Nearly a week after the incident, Edwards was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and felony murder.
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He was booked into the Clayton County Jail.
The investigation remains ongoing as detectives continue compiling evidence for the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Riverdale Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division.
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