Authorities dealing with death of ex-coach as homicide

ATLANTA– Police in Atlanta are treating the death of a former head basketball coach at two Georgia universities as a murder after his body was found in the city shortly after his family reported him missing.The body of Sammy Jackson, a previous men’s coach at Fort Valley State University and Savannah State University, lay Wednesday in a wooded location in northwest Atlanta with evident gunshot wounds, according to the Atlanta Authorities Department.Jackson’s household reported him missing out on to the Peach County sheriff’s office in central Georgia. His wife informed investigators she last spoken with him late Sunday when he will start working for a food shipment service, according to an incident report. Atlanta authorities said Jackson was a rideshare driver.Authorities discovered his abandoned vehicle Monday in Houston County, which is roughly 110 miles south of Atlanta.Atlanta police said in a news release Friday that a guy who ordered a ride in Houston County before Jackson’s disappearance has actually been recognized and is a person of interest in the event. The guy was in the Houston County Prison on an unrelated break-in charge, the release says.Jackson was head men’s basketball coach at Fort Valley State from 2011 to 2018 and Savannah State from 1999 to 2000. He also held assistant functions

at the University of Alabama, Georgia Southern University, Alabama A&M University and Tennessee State University, according to a 2011 release from Fort Valley State.Social media posts today were posted by people who knew Jackson and recalled him as a kind guy who helped others.”I believe everyone would like some answers and desires justice for Sammy,

“said Kareem Kenney, a former assistant coach under Jackson.