It was just another late Sunday evening in East Point. Night had fallen, but Amondre Michael Zepeda wasn’t done working. Out near a buddy’s place on Ben Hill Road in Fulton County, a lawnmower was on the fritz, and if there was one thing everyone knew about Zepeda, it’s that he’d never say no to a friend in a jam. That’s just the kind of man he was.
Right around 10:53 p.m. on April 13, the calm got shattered. A dark-colored sedan rolled through, and without a word, without a warning, somebody inside opened fire. Bullets ripped through the night, and Zepeda took a hit. Just like that, a simple act of kindness had turned deadly. First responders rushed to 2186 Ben Hill Road and got him to Grady Hospital fast, but his injuries were just too much. He didn’t make it.
This wasn’t some guy looking for trouble. By every single account, Zepeda was the polar opposite. His whole reputation in the neighborhood was built on being the fix-it guy, the one with a steady hand and an even steadier heart. He wasn’t a mechanic asking for payment; he was the dedicated, hardworking neighbor who quietly made life easier for the people around him, tackling everyday maintenance and repairs most folks couldn’t handle themselves.
Now, the tools have fallen silent, and the community is left holding the bag, grappling with a fury of grief and confusion. Since that terrible night, the East Point Police Department has been chasing shadows. The cowards in that sedan hit the gas and vanished. Weeks have ticked by, and detectives have no ID, no suspect’s face, and no motive for why a man lending a hand had to die in a hail of gunfire.
The silence from witnesses has been deafening, and that’s exactly why Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta has stepped in. They’re literally putting a price on justice, dangling a reward of up to $5,000 for a single tip that cracks this thing open and leads to an arrest. They don’t want your name—they don’t even need to know you. In a situation this cold, the promise of anonymity is the only comfort a terrified neighbor might need to finally speak up.
The math here is sickening and straightforward. Amondre Michael Zepeda was doing a good deed in his own backyard, and he paid for it with his life. The person holding the gun gets to breathe free air. If you know something, even a sliver of gossip about a dark sedan circling that night, the avenues are wide open. You can dial 404-577-TIPS, text CSGA to 738477, or hide behind the P3 Tips app. No questions asked, just a grieving family possibly getting a shred of peace.
