A Macon teen accidentally killed his friend during a 2021 fight. He recently pleaded guilty
A Macon man was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday for accidentally shooting his friend in the back of the head in 2021.
Jakheem Rashard Thomas, now 20, pleaded guilty in Superior Court to involuntary manslaughter in the killing of Dominique Walker, 23, while the two were at a gathering in west Macon in the early hours of March 30, 2021.
The shooting took place at the intersection of Bethlea Avenue and Whitfield Street just off Eisenhower Parkway, according to Telegraph archives. The gathering was a block away from the farmers market.
Walker picked up Thomas from his shift at Burger King the night of March 29, 2021 and took him to a gathering near the Oglesby Square shopping center around midnight, a prosecuting attorney said. A fight broke out between some women at the event and Thomas went over to try and diffuse the situation.
A group of men saw Thomas and, thinking he was feuding with the women and meant to hurt them, pulled out guns, the attorney said. Thomas and Walker pulled their weapons as well and shots broke out between the two groups. During the exchange of gunfire, Thomas inadvertently shot Walker in the back of the head.
Thomas himself was shot in the leg and remained at the scene until police arrived, according to the attorney. He hid the weapons he and Walker had toted inside a backpack and told police that they had been shot at, not mentioning their part in the gunfight.
Thomas was initially charged with murder but pleaded to the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter in court Monday. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and willful obstruction of a police officer.
Thomas was sentenced by Judge Howard Simms to 12 years, with seven of those served in a penitentiary.
“Your family is gonna miss you for a long time, but your buddy’s family is gonna miss him forever… I could live to be 1,000 years old and never understand it,” Simms said to Thomas, dismayed about gun violence during the sentencing. “The only way anyone around here can resolve anything is to fill the sky up with lead.”