SUPERIOR COURT
A defendant scheduled for trial next week in Jones County Superior Court for charges – that, if convicted, could have resulted in three life sentences – entered a negotiated plea to a lesser offense that came with a sentence of 20 years to serve in prison.
Christopher Matau Booker was in court May 18 with his attorney Floyd Buford to enter his plea. Superior Court Judge Alison Burleson accepted the plea, and Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore prosecuted the case. The defendant was arrested Feb. 5, 2021, and charged with rape, robbery and aggravated sodomy. He was 31 at the time of his arrest.
Booker was allowed to enter a guilty plea to the lesser-included offense of aggravated assault with intent to rape and was sentenced to 20 years, with credit for time served from his arrest, as the result of plea negotiations with the state.
Arrest report
Jones County Sheriff’s Deputy Dustin Mosteller was the arresting officer on the Jones County Sheriff’s Office Feb. 5, 2021, booking report, and Deputy Crystal Murphy was the investigator in charge of the case. Murphy said the victim contacted the Sheriff’s Office Dec. 26, 2020, and reported the alleged crimes that occurred from Dec. 25-26. The investigator said the victim and Booker met online, and the incidents that led to the arrest of the suspect took place at his residence.
Murphy said the reason for the delay in Booker’s arrest was that the victim does not live in the area. She said that caused it to take longer to gather the evidence, get a positive identification of the suspect and issue the warrants.
The investigator said the victim was in the area because she was visiting someone in Macon for the holidays.
The crimes took place in Jones County, which is why Booker was charged in Jones County.
Murphy said Booker was located and picked up by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force.
