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Teens arrested after shooting in Gainesvilles City Park area
Darrius Sullivan
Darrius Sullivan

A Tuesday night shooting in Gainesville may have been drug-related, police said Thursday.

Two Gainesville teens were arrested Wednesday after another was shot in the leg in what police described as a robbery.

Gainesville Police Department spokesman Cpl. Kevin Holbrook said as earlier reports stated, investigators do not think the shooting was random.

“Without going into specific details in reference to the investigation, we can reiterate it was not a random crime,” Holbrook said. “It appears these individuals were there for a specific reason.”

“It’s possible that the incident is drug-related,” he added.

Police responded to the area of City Park about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the victim, identified as 17-year-old Derrick Young, was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. He was discharged from the hospital Thursday.

Darrius Sullivan and Dakota Rash, both 18, are accused of robbing and shooting the Gainesville teen, according to police. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office arrested the men, who are now being held at the Hall County Jail, on Wednesday.

Another teen was charged with possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute as a result of the investigation into the incident. He also is at the jail.

Sullivan, charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery, and Rash, charged with armed robbery, had their first appearance in court before a Hall County magistrate judge Thursday afternoon. Neither of the two men requested a committal hearing, and the charges were bound over to Superior Court. Both men have requested representation from the public defender’s office.

According to court records, Sullivan has a prior arrest record in the county. Misdemeanor drug and traffic charges are pending in state court, stemming from a March arrest. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial.

He also pleaded no contest to riot in connection with his role in a June 13 incident at the jail where he was accused of starting a fight with another inmate in the kitchen.

The investigation into the Tuesday incident is ongoing.