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A jury took less than 15 minutes to convict a man who will now spend the rest of his life in prison for robbing a Dollar General store in Georgia.
Jerico Bernard Williams, 24, was convicted on 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 in relation to the robbery.
A Spalding County jury sentenced him to life in prison, without possibility of parole, plus 20 years, according to WSBTV 2.
After the robbery , Williams and two others — Tierra Davis, 28, and Demarcus Timmons, 22, all of Atlanta – were arrested. A fourth individual, who was never captured, was with the trio on June 4, 2023 — the date of the Dollar General robbing.
According to Spalding County law enforcement, Davis served as the crew's getaway driver, Timmons was assigned to serve as a lookout, and the unknown fourth thief was tasked with forcing the cashier to open the register.
During the trial, the Spalding County District Attorney's Office accused Williams of pointing a gun at a mother and her child in a checkout line and of holding the cashier at gunpoint until the register was empty.
No shots were fired during the failed heist.
A witness saw the suspects enter and flee the store, and called 911 to report the car's make and model to police. Law enforcement said her testimony was key to catching the robbers.
Two of the robbers were caught after a chase with Locust Grove police officers. Police caught up the with third, but never managed to find the final robber.
Spalding County District Attorney Marie Broder issued a statement after the ruling.
“We will not tolerate violent crime against innocent citizens in Spalding County or the Griffin Judicial Circuit,” she said.
Williams had a lengthy criminal history before the Dollar General robbery. He had previously been convicted of hijacking, two counts of armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Fulton County, all stemming from the same incident in October 2018. He was sentenced to serve seven years in prison and six years of probation after his release. He was 17 at the start of his first prison stint.
Davis was charged with armed robbery and driving on a suspended license. Timmons was charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. Both are awaiting the start of their trials.
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix called the heist "stupid" after the initial arrests, suggesting that Williams and his alleged accomplices were lucky the locals did not shoot them.
“Around here there are a lot of people that are armed if they need to go out at that time of night. I don’t know how these guys do it in Atlanta, but robbing a store around here with customers inside at that time of night is a stupid thing for someone to try," Dix said. "The suspects are lucky that they had the opportunity to be captured and not the opportunity to be autopsied."
The fourth suspect involved in the robbery has remained at large for more than a year.
