Anna Lynn Jones was scheduled to start classes Wednesday at the University of West Georgia.
Instead, supporters are planning a fundraiser to benefit her family after the 18-year-old shot to death. A since-fired instructor at the university she would have attended faces murder and other charges.
Jones was shot July 30 while inside a car in a Carrollton parking deck. Authorities say Richard Edward Sigman fired shots after being asked to leave a pizza restaurant, but there’s no indication Jones was targeted.
The SpinnerZ Family Skate Center in Carrollton plans to hold an all-night event beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday and will donate $5 from every admission to the Jones family. The cost is $15 to attend from 7 p.m. until midnight and $25 to stay from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. Sunday.
A lifelong resident of Carroll County, Jones was a cheerleader, played soccer and ran track at Mount Zion High School and was selected for the homecoming court, according to her online obituary. The funeral for Jones was held Sunday in Villa Rica.
Sigman has been held without bond at the Carroll jail since his arrest. On Monday, his attorney filed a motion requesting Sigman be granted bond.
“Defendant is not now nor ever has been a bail risk and will jeopardize the safety of the community if admitted to bail, nor will the defendant pose a risk of committing any felony pending trial,” the motion states.
A tentative date of Sept. 13 has been set for the hearing, court documents show.
Sigman, 47, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder and aggravated assault. Later that day, he was fired from his job in the business department, the university said.
According to police, Sigman had been at Leopoldo’s Pizza Napoletana on the square when he got into an argument with another man. The man said Sigman threatened to shoot him and told a security guard, who saw Sigman with a gun and told him to leave the restaurant.
Sigman left the restaurant, according to witnesses, and walked into the parking deck. That’s where he fired shots at the parked car with Jones inside, according to police. Investigators don’t believe Sigman and Jones had any prior interaction before the shooting.
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