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Trial of man accused in slaying at Columbia County water plant set for February

By Valerie Rowell

Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 12:38 PM

Last updated 2:46 PM

Comments (5)

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The case against a Hephzibah man accused of shooting a Columbia County wastewater treatment plant employee is expected to go to trial in February, after a hearing Friday in Evans.

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Thomas Eugene Bradford

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Thomas Eugene Bradford, 43, is accused of fatally shooting Raymond V. Lee, 38, of Grovetown.

Authorities say Bradford, a driver for Thomson-based Hudsons Grassing Co. Inc., and Lee argued April 1 at the Reed Creek Water Pollution Control Plant in Martinez. Witnesses said that during the argument and fight between the men, Bradford shot Lee with a pistol.

Bradford called 911 and waited at the scene until he was arrested.

In May, Bradford was indicted for murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in June.

Bradford is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.

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Patty-P 12/02/11 - 04:02 pm

This case will be

This case will be interesting. Could go either way.

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BamaMan 12/02/11 - 05:36 pm

Patty-P, how you figure? He

Patty-P, how you figure? He shot him point blank, called 911 and waited on the police.

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Patty-P 12/02/11 - 11:45 pm

Bama....it could depend on

Bama....it could depend on how the case is presented.

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beautee 02/08/12 - 03:45 pm

Patty ........so when is it

Patty ........so when is it ok to shoot an un-armed man in cold blood on his job doing his job? Bradford will stay behind bars for a very long time if justice is done!

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Riverman1 02/08/12 - 04:27 pm

There were a lot of grey

There were a lot of grey areas with this incident. Who initiated the physical contact or attempted to? Did Bradford only go for his gun after he was confronted in a manner that was threatening when all he was attempting to do was leave the area? Lee may have felt he was doing the right thing attempting to stop Bradford from leaving, but was that legal?

It could be if he felt the truck wasn't covered properly he should have called law enforcement and let them handle it down the road.

Now, I'm certainly not saying it's right to bring a gun into an argument between two guys who don't have criminal records and by all reports appear to have both been law abiding gentlemen who worked hard. That's not the right way to handle a dispute this minor. There shouldn't even have been a fight.