Driveway Shooting Suspect Freed on Bond

Phillip Sailors, the Lilburn resident accused of shooting and killing a young Duluth man who pulled into his driveway, is out of jail Wednesday after posting bail.

According to jail records, Sailors bonded out of the Gwinnett County Detention Center at 3:34 p.m. Jan. 30. A judged granted Sailors a $10,000 bond Wednesday afternoon, according to his defense attorney Michael Puglise.

Sailors, 69, is charged with murder in the death of 22-year-old Rodrigo Diaz.

On Saturday evening, Diaz and three friends pulled into Sailors' driveway on Hillcrest Road in Lilburn. The car's GPS took the friends to the wrong house, according to Diaz's family.

Sailors' attorney said that his client thought he and his wife were about to become victims of a home invasion or assault when he fired the fatal shot.

After Diaz died from his injuries Sunday morning at Gwinnett Medical Center, Lilburn Police arrested and charged Sailors with murder.

See also:

• Sailors Attorney: Increased Crime Made Client Wary
• Duluth Man Shot to Death After Pulling Into Wrong Driveway

~ Lilburn Patch