A Macon gang member who gunned down a 16-year-old as he walked to high school in 2017 will spend the rest of his life behind bars, authorities said.
Wesley Jamison Holt, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday to malice murder and violating Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office said in a news release. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.
Holt, a member of the Mafia street gang, shot and killed Jayvon Sherman in October 2017 as he walked along Beech Avenue to Central High School, deputies said previously.
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Moments earlier, another student was walking along the same route when a man on a bicycle approached him and pointed a gun at his head, prosecutors said.
The student was wearing a shirt with the hood over his head at the time. After being approached, he removed the hood, and Holt recognized him as a friend who grew up on his street.
Holt apologized, and the student continued walking toward school, he testified Tuesday. But moments after the encounter, the witness heard several gunshots and turned around to see another teen had been shot.
Credit: The Macon Telegraph
Credit: The Macon Telegraph
Later that day, the witness received a call from Holt, who told him not to tell police what he saw, prosecutors said. The Macon Telegraph reported the witness’ identity was not released or made public in court since his life had been threatened.
Bibb County deputies later searched Holt’s home and found a shell casing that matched those found on Beech Avenue. Holt was arrested on the last day of October.
Deputies had a wiretap on illegally possessed cellphones within the Bibb County Jail, and Holt allegedly made plans with other gang members to try to intimidate the witness. The student told prosecutors he was contacted by the suspect’s brother, who pressured him not to testify.
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