Crime

Man jailed after confessing to fatal Macon hit-and-run, deputies say

A Macon man turned himself in to Bibb County sheriff’s deputies Monday, saying he was the driver in a fatal hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian last week, officials said.

Investigators had been searching for a suspect in the case that claimed the life of 51-year-old Valeria Moore Patterson since it happened about 7:30 a.m. Thursday along Interstate Drive near Columbus Road, just west of Interstate 75.

It wasn’t immediately known what compelled Antonio Jaron Jones, 24, to surrender to authorities late Monday morning.

But according to a sheriff’s statement sent to area news outlets, Jones walked into a sheriff’s office on Third Street and “told investigators that he was driving the vehicle that struck” Patterson.

“After being questioned,” the statement continued, “Jones was transported to the Bibb County jail and charged with homicide by vehicle.”

Court records show that Jones pleaded guilty to multiple burglary charges in 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years on probation as a first-offender.

This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 2:51 PM.

Joe Kovac Jr.
The Telegraph
Joe Kovac Jr. writes about local news and features for The Telegraph, with an eye for human-interest stories. Joe is a Warner Robins native and graduate of Warner Robins High. He joined the Telegraph in 1991 after graduating from the University of Georgia. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. His stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the Seattle Times and Atlanta Magazine. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards.
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