UPDATED: Family Of Local Businessman Jay Weinberger Issue Statement

UPDATE: The family of late local businessman Jay Weinberger speak out for the first time since his death.  Weinberger apparently shot himself following a short pursuit from a Putnam County Georgia deputy very early Saturday morning.  In a statement, the family says it’s grateful for all of the condolences from area friends and former customers.  In the statement, family says the tragedy is in no way connected to the longtime family business.  The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is expected to start investigating the case tomorrow.  The sheriff himself calls the circumstances “bizarre.”  They say the trailer he was pulling the morning of his death was stolen and that another stolen trailer was found at his warehouse on Riverwatch Parkway in Augusta.  Weinberger was laid to rest Sunday.

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Augusta, GA—The sign on their door…tells the story.

The long-time family-run furniture business in Augusta, lost a prominent member of Weinberger’s Furniture, early Saturday morning.

Jay Weinberger, shown here with his brother on the store’s website, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the sheriff of Putnam County, Georgia.

Across town, Tim Kennedy, known as a “competitor” in the business, remembered someone he says was part of the “furniture family”....all of them finding a common bond trying to sell during this economy.

Tim Kennedy, Owner, Furniture Outlet: “This is a real tragedy. It’s bigger than the CSRA, people all over the state know him, and this is a loss.“
   
According to Sheriff Howard Sills, Jay Weinberger was traveling on the interstate in north Putnam County, when a deputy tried to pull him over for driving a truck, hooked up to a trailer with no lights, and expired tags.
   
Sheriff Sills says Weinberger did not pull over immediately, but when he did, he was found dead.

Sheriff Howard Sills, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office: “When the deputy approached the vehicle, he discovered the driver had sustained a gunshot wound to the head, clearly self-inflicted.“

Kennedy: “You just don’t believe it could happen, then as the news comes in, it’s very shocking, but that doesn’t change the…who we know Jay was, a good person, good merchant, he made us all better merchants.“
   
Kennedy says a business that successfully survived for more than 70 years in the Augusta area, will remain strong because of good values.
   
But he admits his “furniture family” has now lost something.

Joy Howe, reporting: “Will the furuniture business be the same without Jay Weinberger?

Kennedy: “No, no, no, it won’t be the same without Jay…..”

Sheriff Sills says the trailer Weinberger was pulling was reported stolen from Putnam County. He is now working with Richmond County Investigators, who say they discovered a second stolen trailer here in Augusta, at a storage shed Weinberger had on Riverwatch Parkway.
   
He tells me they are investigating further, to see if any other stolen items turn up.

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Augusta businessman Jay Weinberger died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound early Saturday, following a short police pursuit.  According to the Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, Weinberger was pulled over for a traffic stop when he allegedly sped away.  After a short pursuit, the car Weinberger was driving pulled over into a ditch.  When the deputy arrived, Weinberger was dead from a single gunshot.  The body was taken to Atlanta’s crime lab for an autopsy.  According to investigators, a stolen concession trailer was attached to Weinberger’s vehicle.  Sheriff Sills confirmed that another similar trailer, also believed stolen, was found at a local warehouse owned by Weinberger.  Weinberger, along with his brother Mark, own a popular local furniture store and factory.

Official site: http://www.weinbergersfurniture.com/“>WeinbergersFurniture.com