Felon sentenced for 2016 shooting of Athens man

A 34-year-old man is heading to prison for his role in the fatal shooting of an Athens man, officials said.

Darvis Donquan Bledson was captured with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals after he was charged with murder, Gainesville police said on social media.

Bledson, also known as "Tookie," shot and killed 30-year-old Terry Jerome "TJ" Maddox outside a Gainesville business on Sept. 9, 2016, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

Though originally charged with malice murder, Bledson accepted a negotiated plea for voluntary manslaughter, according to the Hall County District Attorney’s Office.

Bledson also pleaded to charges of aggravated assault, possession of a gun by a felon and possession of a gun in the commission of a crime.

He was given a 50-year sentence with 25 years to be served in prison. The final 25 years can be on probation, the district attorney’s office said.

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