A former Jenkins High basketball standout was shot to death on Savannah’s eastside early Friday morning.
Police responding to a shooting call about 2:14 a.m. in Avondale found Rashaad Spann wounded in a car near the east end of Hawaii Avenue.
Spann, 20, was taken to Memorial University Medical Center where he died, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.
Violent crimes detectives arrested 20-year-old Fashad Kennedy of the 1300 block of East 60th Street and charged him with murder in Spann’s death. Jail booking records also show he was charged with aggravated assault.
Spann, who police said lived on Darling Street in Woodville/Bartow, was something of a standout on the local basketball scene before he graduated from Jenkins High in 2012.
As a sophomore, Spann played on the Groves High basketball team that reached the Class AAAAA quarterfinals. He transferred to Jenkins for his junior year and helped lead the Warriors to an undefeated regular season in region play, before losing to Savannah High in the region championship game.
Spann was selected the Region 3-AAAAA player of the year as a junior and earned Savannah Morning News All-Greater Savannah first-team honors.
Jenkins coach Bakari Bryant took over the Warrior program after the passing of coach Gregory Oliver and coached Spann his senior year.
“Rashaad was a team player, and he had a great personality,” Bryant said. “He liked to joke around, but he got serious when it came to basketball. He was always out in front when it came to drills in practice. He was a team leader.”
Bryant said Spann stayed involved with the team after graduating, attending some games and talking to the team in the locker room.
“The kid was awesome on the court, and he was a great kid off the court.”
Detectives continue to investigate the shooting.
Spann’s death is the fourth homicide investigated by metro police this year, and the fifth in Chatham County.