Local & State Headlines

Assault victim witness in murder case

• Police are seeking the public's help to solve an aggravated assault case.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — The man who police say may have been beaten and thrown from a vehicle Tuesday was scheduled to serve as a witness in a high-profile murder case, officials confirmed Wednesday.

John Lewis Barbre, 51, of Albany, was found outside the Tallulah Massey Library by two Dougherty High students as they were walking to school Tuesday morning, police officials said. Police reports show that he had a “massive” head wound and appeared to have been thrown from a vehicle.

Investigators are unsure how he sustained his injuries, although Wednesday night he was still in the critical care unit at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in a doctor-induced coma.

Dougherty District Attorney Ken Hodges confirmed Wednesday that Barbre was to serve as a witness in a trial stemming from the March 2007 shooting death of former paramedic and search and rescue commander Jack Camp, but stopped short of saying that the attack on Barbre was an attempt to kill a witness.

“There is no connection that we know of at this point between Mr. Barbre’s service as a witness in that case and this attack on him,” Hodges said. “But if that is determined later, rest assured we will bring all the weight of this office down onto whoever did this.”

Police concede that there is little to go on in their investigation and are reaching out to the public for help.

“This is one of those cases where our investigators really need anyone with information to come forward and help them bring justice for what was done to this man,” APD spokesperson Phyllis Banks said.

On Wednesday, APD investigators Lt. Kendra Wilson, Cpls. Dale Henry Jr., Antonio Fletcher, Terrance Whitlock and Kandace Hird and Ptl. Charlie Roberts canvassed the streets searching for information about the attack.

Initially, police thought that Barbre may have been involved in a hit-and-run accident after discovering his glasses, coat and shoes about 200 yards from where he was discovered. The skin on the tops of his feet and his head had been severely scraped and there were tire marks on his right arm, according to police reports.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Albany Police Department at 431-2100 or call the Albany Crimestoppers line anonymously at 436-8477.

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