NEWTON COUNTY—A court date is approaching for the defendants charged in the death of 18-year-old Justin Etienne at Denny Dobbs Park last March.

According to court filings, the defendants are set to appear before Judge Cheveda McCamy on Jan. 15, 2026. The court appearance comes over nine months after an incident at Denny Dobbs Park in Newton County that left Etienne dead.

This past March 19 was a “Senior Skip Day” at Denny Dobbs Park for many area students. Etienne, who was a senior at Salem High School, was one of many teenagers at the park.

At around 5 p.m., a conflict broke out, and Etienne—who investigators say was a bystander—was shot. Etienne was hospitalized but succumbed to his injuries later that evening.

In the days that followed, two teenagers were arrested. Jarvis Hinton Jr., who was a 16-year-old student at Newton High School at the time, was taken into custody on March 21. Tashshawn Lyons, a 17-year-old Rockdale County High School student, was arrested on March 24.

However, The Covington News has confirmed that a third teenage defendant is being charged in Etienne’s death.

Jordan McIntosh was booked into the Newton County Jail on March 28. According to his booking report, McIntosh was arrested at his Conyers home by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO). He was 16 years old at the time.

While press releases were sent out for both Lyons and Hinton’s arrests, McIntosh’s inclusion in the case has remained unreported to this point.

“...at the time of the arrest, the individual’s name was not released due to ongoing investigative procedures that needed to be completed before his name and photograph could be made public, in order to avoid compromising the active investigation,” said Caitlin Jett, NCSO communication manager, in a statement to The News on Dec. 23. “Once those steps were finalized, the transfer of information to me for dissemination was unfortunately overlooked. The information was not intentionally withheld; rather, it was a procedural oversight following the completion of required investigative steps.”

The three defendants face matching charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 18 and reckless conduct.

Additionally, the defendants are facing charges of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. This was not among the initial charges handed down to Lyons and Hinton.

The News contacted District Attorney Randy McGinley about the additional gang-related charge. McGinley declined to comment, citing ethical concerns as the case is pending.

An indictment released in June named a second victim alongside Etienne: Luther Hill. Hill was not killed in the events at the park, but the indictment indicated that a firearm was brandished at him, which amounts to an assault charge. It also appears that Hill’s “sandals” were taken from him, cited under a violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. 

Hinton, Lyons and McIntosh will appear in court in January. All have obtained legal representation. They have been held in the Newton County Detention Center without bond since their arrests.