THOMASVILLE — A Halloween visit to the scene of the crime landed a slaying suspect back in jail. 

Marquis Dacasta Gatlin, 27, was charged with murder and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery in connection with the January death of Chance Kelly, a Marine home on leave to attend his grandmother’s funeral in Thomasville.

Bond conditions called for Gatlin to wear an ankle monitor, home confinement and to move to Valdosta where he had relatives.

“That way he would have no connection with the victim’s family,” said Capt. Tim Watkins, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office chief investigator.

On Nov. 5, Gatlin’s Halloween presence in Thomasville was reported to the sheriff’s office.

“We verified it with the ankle monitor that he had been close to where the victim’s family lives,” Watkins said.

The bonding company came off Gatlin’s $75,000 bond. Gatlin was taken into custody and booked into the Thomas County Jail. His bond will be formally revoked in Thomas County Superior Court.

Also charged in the case is 22-year-old Ryan Law. He was charged with theft by receiving a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Law was released from jail on a $40,000 bond on Feb. 21. 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820