SUPERIOR COURT
The trial of Rashad Anthony Lay, who faces charges in the shooting death of Trentarius Jade Greene, is scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection.
Lay was indicted by a Jones County Grand Jury Feb. 6 for the crimes of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with Greene’s shooting and subsequent death.
The shooting took place Oct. 4, 2022, in Haddock. Lay, 27, was arrested Oct. 18 and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. The charges against Lay escalated a month later when Greene succumbed to the injuries he received in the Oct. 4 shooting. Lay is represented in the trial by defense attorneys Hoganne Harrison Walton and Rashawn Clark. Ocmulgee Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Capt. Kenny Allen with the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.
Superior Court Judge Amanda Petty will preside over the trial.
Barksdale estimated the trial will take four days, including jury selection. He said the state would be calling at most 30 witnesses.
Pretrial motions took place Aug. 17-18 in order to clear the way for the trial to begin Aug. 28. The motions were from both the state and the defense.
Barksdale went on the record with an offer of a life sentence with the possibility of parole in exchange of a guilty plea from Lay. The defense declined the offer.
The maximum the defendant is facing for the charges is a sentence of life without parole.
In a News story about the shooting, Allen stated officers were dispatched to the scene on Highway 22 in Haddock Oct. 4, at approximately 9:30 p.m., in reference to a shooting.
He said the house where the shooting occurred is next to the local chain store. The captain said when deputies arrived, they found the victim had been shot multiple times.
Allen said the victim was conscious and alert when officers arrived and was able to give them information related to the shooting. The officers responding to the scene included Gray Police Officers in addition to Jones County sheriff’s deputies.
The shooting took place in the yard outside of the house.
