A Spalding County jury took less than 15 minutes to convict Jerico Bernard Williams, 24, who will now spend the rest of his life in prison for robbing a Dollar General store in Georgia. Williams was found guilty of multiple charges, including one count of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Williams was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 20 years, according to WSBTV 2. The swift verdict reflects the severity of the crime, which took place on June 4, 2023, in Spalding County.
On the day of the robbery, Williams and his accomplices—Tierra Davis, 28, and Demarcus Timmons, 22, both of Atlanta—were arrested, while a fourth suspect, who remains at large, was also involved. According to law enforcement, Davis acted as the getaway driver, Timmons served as the lookout, and the unidentified fourth individual forced the cashier to open the register.
During the trial, the Spalding County District Attorney’s Office detailed how Williams pointed a gun at a mother and her child in a checkout line and held the cashier at gunpoint until the register was emptied. Fortunately, no shots were fired during the attempted robbery.
A key witness who observed the suspects entering and fleeing the store provided critical information to the police, including the car’s make and model. This testimony played a crucial role in apprehending the robbers. Two of the suspects were captured after a high-speed chase with Locust Grove police officers, while the third was caught later. However, the fourth suspect remains at large more than a year after the incident.
Spalding County District Attorney Marie Broder emphasized the county’s zero-tolerance policy for violent crime. “We will not tolerate violent crime against innocent citizens in Spalding County or the Griffin Judicial Circuit,” she said following the conviction.
Williams’ criminal history was also highlighted during the trial. Prior to the Dollar General robbery, he had been convicted in Fulton County of hijacking, two counts of armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, all related to a 2018 incident when he was just 17 years old. For those crimes, Williams was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by six years of probation.
Davis and Timmons are currently awaiting trial. Davis faces charges of armed robbery and driving on a suspended license, while Timmons has been charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping.
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix criticized the robbers’ actions, calling the heist “stupid” and noting that the suspects were fortunate to have been captured rather than injured by armed locals. “The suspects are lucky that they had the opportunity to be captured and not the opportunity to be autopsied,” Dix remarked.