A man has been extradited to Columbus from Alabama to face a murder charge in connection with the 2025 shooting death of 54-year-old Lawrence Perry.
According to the Columbus Police Department, Joseph Griswold was extradited to Columbus on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, from the Russell County Jail in Alabama, where he was being held on unrelated charges.
Griswold appeared in Recorder’s Court on Thursday, Oct. 1, for a preliminary hearing. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was bound over to Superior Court.
The case dates back to Sept. 3, 2025, when Columbus police officers responded around 6:16 a.m. to the 1600 block of Northside Industrial Boulevard in reference to reports of shots fired.
Officers also received a report from St. Francis Hospital regarding a shooting victim. Investigators determined the two incidents were related.
Perry was transported to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The Columbus Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit took the lead in the investigation.
In the department’s original Sept. 3, 2025, release, police identified Walter Bethune, 32, as the suspect. With assistance from the CPD Fugitive Unit and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Bethune was located in Smiths Station, Alabama, and arrested.
Police said Bethune was being held at the Lee County Jail at the time while awaiting extradition to Columbus on a murder charge.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Cpl. M. Ruiz with the Columbus Police Department at 706-225-4379 or by email at ruiz.mary-macy@columbusga.org. Anonymous tips may also be submitted.
