A 53-year-old man was gunned down on South Park Avenue Thursday night and a reward is offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

Det. Bryan Cavenaugh with the Tifton Police Dept. said officers arrived at the residence at 1116 S. Park Avenue at 9:29 p.m. to find Tony Jerome Thomas shot multiple times with a handgun. Thomas was transported by Tift County Emergency Medical Services to Tift Regional Medical Center where he died of his injuries.

Cavenaugh said Thomas’s body is being sent to the G.B.I. Crime Lab in Atlanta for an autopsy. He said Thomas was sitting on the lawn of the residence when he was shot and, according to witnesses, the offenders left the scene running south down an alley.

“At this point, we are looking into whether this incident is drug-related,” Cavenaugh said. “Drugs were found in the home but we are still not sure if that was the specific cause for the shooting.”

During the investigation, detectives with the TPD secured a search warrant for the residence and, during the subsequent search by the GBI crime scene technician, cocaine and hydrocodone were found. Johnny Swain, 21, the resident of 1116 S. Park Ave., was charged with violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act.

“We have conducted several interviews and we have worked the case throughout the night,” Det. Lee Dunston said Thursday afternoon. “We need the one person who knows first-hand what occurred and can break this case wide open for us.”

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call the TPD Detective’s Division at 382-3132. A reward is offered for anyone that has information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the offender(s).

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.