SUPERIOR COURT
A Milledgeville man charged in a shooting that occurred at a Dec. 11, 2021, basketball game at Jones County High School entered guilty pleas to the charges against him.
Dewayne Tavarious Russell was in Jones County Superior Court Jan. 26 and pled guilty to carrying weapons within certain school area, possession of a handgun by a person under the age of 18 and possession of marijuana less than an ounce.
The sentences were ordered to run concurrently for a total of five years, which may be served on probation.
Russell was arrested the night of the shooting with three juveniles who were passengers in his car. During the subsequent investigation of the incident, three of those four suspects were identified as participants in the fight that led to the shooting.
Russell was 17 at the time of his arrest and was indicted for the charges by a Jones County Grand Jury June 28, 2022.
All the exits of the school parking lot were covered after the incident, and JCSO deputy Jeff Sullivan detected the odor of marijuana coming from the Honda Russell was driving. A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of a quantity of marijuana and a loaded pistol.
Jailan Letravis Lester was identified by Jones County Sheriff Office Investigators as the shooter. He was 17 at the time of his Dec. 16, 2021, arrest. Lester was a senior at JCHS, and he has remained in custody since his arrest.
His charges include aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a minor, disrupting a school event, affray, disorderly conduct and possession of a firearm on school property. No one was injured at the shooting that took place in the JCHS gym about 8 p.m., just seconds before the end of a basketball game between the Jones County Greyhounds and Baldwin County Braves.
In a News article about the shooting, JCSO Investigator Barron Hall said he was working security at the game and was outside the door of the gym when the shooting occurred. He said there were 11 seconds remaining on the game clock when the shot rang out.
Gray Police Officer Lt. Thaxton Pennamon was working security inside the gym.
Hall said he was alerted that the gunshot took place inside of the gym in the balcony area.
Once the shot happened, he said a large crowd began exiting all doors of the building.
The investigator said one shell casing was recovered during the investigation. He said the projectile from the gun hit the floor and separated into two pieces. Those pieces were later removed from the display cases on the wall.
Hall said the incident happened at shift change for JCSO deputies, and plenty of officers responded.
Others arrested in the investigation of the shooting include Shelton Metice-Davis Edwards and Jitavius Tavoucia Whipple. Edwards was charged with reckless conduct, carrying a weapon in a school safety zone, school function or school property as a license holder misdemeanor. Whipple was charged with disrupting public school, disorderly conduct, affray and party to a crime.
Jones County Sheriff Office Investigator Crystal Murphy, the lead investigator in the case, said videos from the multiple surveillance cameras at the inside and outside of the high school had been very helpful.
Murphy said there were people with small children right where the shooting happened, and it was amazing no one was hurt.
Jones County Board of Education members unanimously voted to place metal detectors at the entrance of all JCHS sporting events and tournaments at their first meeting following the shooting.
