Cordele man died after shooting

CORDELE, GA (WALB) - A Cordele man who was shot in his home more than a week ago has died. 58-year-old Irvin Bivens was struck in the stomach last Saturday when someone opened fire outside his home.

Police now say they think his murder is connected to a shooting at a convenience store the same night.

Bivens was inside his home on West 2nd Avenue in Cordele when someone came to the front door. Police say Bivens wouldn't let the person inside, and that is when the gunman opened fire.

"Mr. Bivens was known to sell snacks and other items at his residence, so they may have thought he may have had some cash there and that was a good motive to see if he had some money to rob him at that time," says Sgt. Ketorie Sales\Cordele Police Dept. Detective.

The call came just hours after a shooting at the Sunset Foodmart where the owner of the store was robbed and shot as he left his store for the night. Tips poured in which led police to the arrests of three men in the Sunset Foodmart shooting.

"Those tips lead to witnesses that were able to identify some of the parties that were involved, and then we began to try to locate those individuals," says Sales.

17 year-old Tborisous Paul, 19 year-old Rondell Ashley, and a 15 year-old juvenile are charged with two counts of armed robbery and aggravated assault.

Now police say there is a connection between the robbery of the Sunset Food Mart and the murder of Bivens. They found the murder weapon a block away from Bivens' home in the home where the 15-year old charged in the convenience store shooting was staying.

"The juvenile was arrested in reference to unrelated charges at the time, but during the search warrant we were able to locate what we believe to be the gun that was used in the shooting of Mr. Bivens," says Sales.

And it was the same gun used in the Sunset Foodmart shooting.

"We believe we are going to be able to, with help from the GBI crime lab, be able to link the shell casings to the gun and then the shell casings from each scene to that gun also," says Sales.

Once the District Attorney agrees, investigators plan to charge the juvenile as an adult in the store shooting as they continue to investigate the murder.

Paul, Ashley, and the juvenile are currently in the Crisp County jail. Police have not yet charged any of them with killing Bivens.

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