Macon man who spent 10 years in prison for gang shooting pleads guilty to owning gun
A Macon man convicted of manslaughter 25 years ago pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge in Bibb County federal court Thursday, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Jeffery ‘Tuloop’ Willis, 44, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter in 1997 after a gang-related shooting.
More than two decades later, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and could face up to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
“We will use every resource available to protect our communities from the threat of illegal gun possession,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. “Working with law enforcement, our office will hold violent felons caught possessing or selling guns accountable at the federal level.”
Court documents showed that ATF agents saw Willis sell a .44 revolver with ammunition in Macon in May of last year. Willis was convicted of a felony in October of 1997, making it illegal for him to possess said revolver.
Willis’s felony charge of voluntary manslaughter came as a result of a complex gang shooting involving a revenge plot that spanned months.
Willis was a member of the Crips gang at the time while the man he shot, Rodney Chambers, was affiliated with the Bloods, according to Telegraph archives from 1997.
Chambers began feuding with Crips gang members after a brick was thrown at his car. Confrontations continued until, after a series of chaotic car chases in April of 1997, Willis shot Chambers to escape Chambers’s group of Bloods later that year.
More than a decade after being released from prison for that incident, Willis faces the strong possibility of more time.
“Jeffery Willis is an example of misdeeds happening in the past affecting someone’s future. Mr. Willis’ prosecution should serve as a reminder that a firearm violence conviction as a young person has serious consequences when that person decides to take up arms later in life,” Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said in the release.
Willis pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell last week and now awaits sentencing.