Sylvester Man Arrested for Murder After Deadly Walmart Parking Lot Shooting

Daktavius Antuan Tyler, 32, of Sylvester, Georgia, didn't make it far. The GBI and the Sylvester Police Department arrested and charged Tyler with Malice Murder, Felony Murder, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime in connection with a shooting that took place in Sylvester on Sunday, March 22, 2026. His alleged victim: a neighbor.

Both Tyler and Reginald Alford, 56, were from Sylvester. Worth County Coroner Jimmy Nelms identified the victim and told WALB that Alford was shot and killed at a Walmart. The two men lived in the same small south Georgia city, population under 6,000, making this as close to home as it gets.

At about 3:00 p.m. on March 22, officers with the Sylvester Police Department were dispatched to a hospital in Sylvester after a call came in that a person had been shot. When officers arrived, they found Alford suffering from a gunshot wound. He later died from his injuries. Further investigation revealed that the shooting took place at another location, and Alford was driven to the hospital after being shot. That secondary location, according to the coroner, was the Sylvester Walmart, though the GBI's official release did not name a specific site.

Tyler was arrested the same day the shooting occurred. He faces Malice Murder, Felony Murder, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime. In Georgia, a Malice Murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. Tyler was booked into the Turner County Jail on March 22.

Alford's body will be taken to the GBI Crime Lab in Macon, Georgia, where an autopsy will be performed. The results of that autopsy could become central evidence once the case moves forward. Once the investigation wraps, the full case file goes to the Tift County District Attorney's Office for review and potential prosecution.

Anyone with information on the shooting can contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Sylvester at 229-777-2080 or the Sylvester Police Department at 229-776-8501. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477) or through the "See Something, Send Something" mobile app.