On April 5, at approximately 1:20 a.m., GPD officers were dispatched to 17 S. Main Street on a “person down” call. When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive male subject in the street. EMS arrived and pronounced the victim deceased. GPD’s Violent Crimes investigators were notified and responded to the scene. 

The victim was identified as 48-year-old James Andrew Austin, Jr. of Greenville. An autopsy determined that Austin was the victim of an assault and the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Detectives identified the suspect as 21-year-old Claude Austin Jester and obtained an arrest warrant for him for Murder. Jester was arrested by the U.S. Marshals task force last night. He has been arraigned and is currently being held at the Greenville County Detention Center without bond.