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69-year-old on morning walk shot and killed by man out on probation, Georgia cops say

A 69-year-old man was fatally shot in an attempted robbery as he walked near Sunny Point Park in LaGrange, GA police said.
A 69-year-old man was fatally shot in an attempted robbery as he walked near Sunny Point Park in LaGrange, GA police said. Getty Images | iStockphoto

A 69-year-old was shot dead in a robbery gone awry, police in Georgia say.

Now a man police say was out on probation related to a different robbery has been charged.

Kenneth Stanley Dial was on a morning walk Monday, Aug. 28, when he was gunned down at a park in LaGrange, according to the city’s police department.

Officers were called to the area at about 8 a.m. and found a man shot multiple times, police said. Witnesses also told police they heard gunshots earlier that morning.

The deadly encounter unfolded near Sunny Point Park, a sprawling recreation area on West Point Lake that has campgrounds, bank fishing and a boat ramp for access to the lake, according to its website.

An acquaintance who frequents the park found Dial and called 911, police said. He died at the scene.

Billy Joe Tyler III, 38, was arrested at about 9 p.m. and charged with murder in the deadly shooting, according to police.

Investigators believe Tyler tried to rob Dial before shooting and killing him, according to the police department. He was on active felony probation connected to a previous robbery in the Atlanta area at the time, police said.

Authorities didn’t release additional details but said the shooting is under investigation.

LaGrange is about 70 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.

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This story was originally published August 29, 2023 at 11:54 AM with the headline "69-year-old on morning walk shot and killed by man out on probation, Georgia cops say."

Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
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