A Macon man received a sentence of 25 years with the first 10 years to serve following a trial last week in Jones County Superior Court.
John Derrick Rowland, 44, was found guilty Aug. 26 on all three of the counts he was facing: burglary in the first degree, criminal attempt to commit a felony and burglary in the second degree.
He was sentenced to 20 years for burglary in the first degree, 12 months for criminal attempt to commit a felony and five years for burglary in the second degree. The first and third counts are to run consecutively but concurrently to count two for a total of 25 years with the first 10 years served in confinement. The remainder of the sentence may be served on probation, and he is to receive credit for time already served in custody.
Rowland was also ordered to pay the victim $28,000 in restitution.
The trial started Aug. 25, with both the state and defense resting their cases at the end of the day.
Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore prosecuted the case, and Rowland was represented by Public Defender Tom O’Donnel. Chief Superior Court Judge Alison Burleson presided over the case.
The jury heard from the investigating officers and the victim during the trial.
Rowland opted not to testify, but the defense did call a caregiver who was taking care of the defendant’s grandmother at the time the burglary took place.
Closing arguments took place the morning of Aug. 26, and the jury deliberated for approximately two hours before bringing back the guilty verdict.
Arrest and investigation
Rowland was arrested on the charges Feb. 28, 2025, and released on a $10,000 bond March 6, 2025. He was indicted by a Jones County Grand Jury June 3, 2025.
Rowland was arrested again Aug. 20 on a bench warrant due to not showing up for court as ordered and remained incarcerated until the trial.
The burglary of a home on Old Macon Road in Jones County was reported to the sheriff’s office when the homeowner returned home from a trip Feb. 15, 2025. JCSO Sgt. Travis Walker, now Lt. Walker, responded to the scene and spoke to the complainant.
In his report of the incident, the officer said when he arrived at the home, he observed a Dodge Ram truck stuck in the mud on the side of the property. The truck had been moved 20 to 30 feet from its original location, and its ignition was broken. Several tools had been removed from the shop to a utility trailer sitting up the hill closer to the road as well as a generator.
Walker said inside the home a gun cabinet had been pried open, and certain drawers were opened.
“The house was not in complete disarray but was strategically gone through.”
He said there was a receipt from a local discount store found on the coffee table that the complainant said was not his. Walker took photos and checked for prints, but no usable prints were found.
Items determined to be stolen from inside the home were three 30-30 rifles, a .22 revolver, a black derringer, a lock box containing coins, jewelry and passports, several boxes of ammo and bottles of prescription pain relievers.
Walker said the complainant gave him the name of a person he suspected in the burglary, who had shown a great deal of interest in one of the expensive tools that had been taken.
The case was turned over to Lt. Kenny Gleaton, now Capt. Gleaton, who followed the lead of the suspect’s name provided by the complainant, but he was not involved in the crime.
Gleaton then focused on the receipt and went to the discount store accompanied by JCSO Investigator Crystal Murphy, now Lt. Murphy, and Deputy Jason Douglas. The officers were able to secure video footage of the transaction listed on the receipt found at the crime scene.
Murphy and Gleaton met with the complainant Feb. 19, 2025 at the Law Enforcement Center to let him view the video from the store. Rowland was immediately recognized by the complainant as ‘Derrick’, a person who had been at his home the previous month.
The complainant also brought items to the meeting he found in his home after the burglary that did not belong to him. The items were a pair of socks found on the porch and keys found in the floor of a closet that had been ransacked.
In a supplemental report, Murphy said she located the vehicle believed to belong to the suspect from searching the store videos and Flock cameras. The registration of the vehicle provided Rowland’s identity.
In his report, Gleaton said he obtained an arrest warrant for Rowland for burglary charges Feb. 27, 2025, from magistrate courts in both Jones and Bibb counties. The warrants were executed by Gleaton, accompanied by Jones and Bibb deputies Feb. 28, 2025.
Rowland was taken into custody in a traffic stop during a drive by of the residence. The suspect was a passenger in the vehicle observed leaving the residence. Gleaton said a jacket worn by Rowland in the store video was found in the suspect’s bedroom. No other items of evidence were located in the search.
The suspect was interviewed the same afternoon, and that video was shown to the jury during the trial. Rowland admitted knowing the burglary victim and being at his home a month prior; however, he denied any knowledge of the crime.
The suspect also admitted it was him on the store video, but he had no explanation of how the store receipt was found at the burglary scene.
Gleaton noted that he served Rowland with additional warrants March 3, 2025, in reference to the burglary of the victim’s shed and attempt to steal the truck. He said he asked the suspect no questions, but Rowland made a spontaneous statement.
“Rowland offered the explanation that he sold a quantity of methamphetamine to a man he identified as John Keough, and he used the paper receipt to package the meth,” the investigator said.
During Gleaton’s testimony at the Aug. 25 trial, he said the paper receipt was subsequently tested for meth residue, and the test result was negative.
Conclusion
Burleson pronounced sentence after the guilty verdict was received. She commented that although Rowland did not have much of a criminal history, she doubted this was his first burglary.
In an interview following the trial, Fiore agreed with that statement.
“I think this crime was premeditated and planned,” she said. “He was casing the house during his first visit.”
The prosecutor said Rowland took more from the victim than material items.
“He took his feeling of safety and many of the things he took, like the wedding rings, are not replaceable,” she said. “This was his first trip after the death of his husband.”
Fiore said the sentence was based on the value of the stolen items.
“This was well-planned and obviously not his first time,” she added.
