A Jones County man will spend the next few years in prison following a guilty plea in Jones County Superior Court while receiving 10-year sentences in two separate cases.
Gary Van Yaughn, 40, has been on multiple court calendars since his arrest April 8, 2025, but had been able to postpone entering a guilty plea or facing a trial. He hired and fired several attorneys during that time, including public defenders.
That changed Sept. 17 when he entered guilty pleas to the charges in both of his outstanding cases. Yaughn was represented in those proceedings by Brinson Raley. Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradlly accepted the negotiated pleas and sentenced Yaughn to 10 years each for two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Those counts were allowed to run concurrently for a total of 10 years with the first five years served in confinement.
In his second case, Yaughn was sentenced to 10 years for the charge of false imprisonment, five years for the charge of terroristic threats and 12 months each for charges of simple battery family violence and criminal trespass. Those counts were also allowed to run concurrently for a total of 10 years with the first five years served in confinement.
The sentences in both cases are to run concurrently, and he received credit for time served from his April 8, 2025, arrest. The remainder of the sentences is to be served on probation.
In 2022, Yaughn pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and battery family violence and received five years on probation. That probation lasts until 2027 and included 12 months to serve in the Jones County jail.
A report of the 2025 arrest by Jones County Sheriff Office Deputy Richard Langston states he was dispatched to a convenience store on Highway 57 in reference to a domestic incident that happened at a residence on Joycliff Road.
The complainant stated she and Yaughn had an argument he attempted to keep her from leaving. When she got outside the house, she said he grabbed her phone and threw it, then poured gas on her car and threatened to burn it with her inside.
Langston said at that point the complainant said he forced her back inside the house against her will. When she eventually escaped his grasp and left, Yaughn followed her and attempted to stop her vehicle.
Yaughn reportedly struck her vehicle at the intersection of New Clinton Road and again at the intersection at Jeffersonville Road. The complainant stated she was attempting to get to the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office.
Contact was made with Twiggs County Deputy Parker, who met her at a convenience store and contacted JCSO.
Langston said he secured warrants against Yaughn for felony terroristic threats, criminal trespass, two kidnapping charges, false imprisonment and simple battery.
Yaughn’s criminal history also includes a guilty plea Nov. 19, 2020, for charges of criminal trespass and battery family violence. He also has a history of charges in Twiggs County, all involving domestic disputes and similar charges.
