WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — A Chickamauga man has been convicted of felony murder and other charges in the 2022 shooting death of 53-year-old Danny Claire, following a week-long jury trial in Walker County Superior Court.
Jeremy McCrary, 46, was found guilty on May 23, 2025, of felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The conviction stems from a deadly confrontation in March 2022 that began as a traffic dispute and ended in a fatal shooting outside a local Dollar General.
According to trial evidence, McCrary and his son-in-law were speeding and weaving through traffic on motorcycles along Lee-Clarkson Road in Chickamauga on March 22, 2022. When they attempted to pass Claire’s vehicle, Claire swerved to block them. The pair eventually passed, and McCrary’s son-in-law struck Claire’s side mirror, causing damage.
All three men ended up in the parking lot of a nearby Dollar General on Garrett’s Chapel Road, where Claire confronted McCrary and his son-in-law about the damage. Witnesses testified that during the argument, McCrary pulled a gun and shot Claire once in the chest. Claire, who was unarmed, collapsed and died within minutes.
McCrary initially claimed self-defense, telling investigators that Claire had pushed him into a fence before the shooting. However, multiple eyewitnesses and forensic evidence contradicted his account. Surveillance footage, drone scene reconstruction, and testimony from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner helped dismantle McCrary’s narrative.
During the trial, McCrary took the stand and repeated his version of events, but the jury remained unconvinced and returned a guilty verdict.
Superior Court Judge Don W. Thompson sentenced McCrary to life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus five additional years.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Deanna Reisman and Assistant District Attorney Zachary Trippe. Investigators from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia State Patrol played key roles, along with District Attorney’s Office staff and Victim Advocate Amy Reed, who supported the Claire family throughout the case.
District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller praised the outcome and the investigative work behind it.
“What happened that day wasn’t self-defense — it was an unnecessary and deadly escalation,” Fuller said. “In Walker County, if you take a life without cause, we’ll make sure you spend yours behind four walls.”