A Paulding County man was sentenced to life in prison after he admitted to killing an associate who was reported missing out of Gwinnett County in 2021, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
A jury on Friday found Wesley Richard Brock, 54, of Dallas, guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, court records show. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 15 years, in the death of 54-year-old Ronald Leonard Williams.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family,” the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office said.
Williams was reported missing by his family Nov. 28, 2021, Paulding sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said at the time. Initially, Gwinnett detectives tracked the last known location of Williams’ car and phone to Paulding, Henson said.
Five days later, detectives found Williams’ car parked at an apartment complex in Cobb County. Evidence in the car led investigators to believe an assault had taken place, and the search for Williams was widened to include the GBI.
Investigators canvassed the area around the apartment complex and continued to look into additional leads, Henson said. The investigation led detectives to take out a search warrant for Brock’s home in Dallas in early December 2021. Brock was described to officials as an associate of Williams.
Detectives and GBI agents interviewed Brock, Henson said, before he confessed to shooting Williams and getting rid of his body near Williams Road in rural northern Paulding. Williams’ remains were recovered and examined by the Paulding coroner.
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