2 men get life in prison for Fort Valley toddler’s murder. Will others face charges?
Two men were sentenced to life in prison without chance for parole on Friday for the murder of a toddler in Peach County, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita R. Howard announced Friday.
The men — Jabari Thomas and Wontazious Bivins — were found guilty in the shooting death of 23-month-old Marcus Ball Jr. on Aug. 12. The men were also found guilty for injuring the boy’s 1-year-old sister, Markailey Ball.
Thomas and Bivins were convicted on charges of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Bivins was also convicted of an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
In addition to their life sentences, Thomas received an additional sentence of 25 years in prison, while Bivins was hit with another 35 years.
A co-defendant, Christopher Miller, was convicted of the same charges in May and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 25 years.
Ball was killed during “a reckless spray of gunfire” at the Lakeview Apartments in Fort Valley in July 2022, according to a press release sent out at the time of Thomas and Bivins’ conviction.
Ball died upon arriving at the emergency room at Atrium Health of Peach County, while his sister was in critical condition and eventually recovered.
Ball’s family was in attendance at Friday’s press conference and said Ball’s loss has impacted them profoundly.
“My world has been shattered,” said Tiffany Walker, Ball’s mother. “There’s days where I don’t want to get up because I don’t have my baby.”
Howard and Taylor Wilson, deputy chief of Peach and Crawford counties with the Macon Judicial Circuit, said they suspect others were a part of the exchange of gunfire that killed Ball.
Wilson told reporters Friday that authorities have named two people who they expect to bring charges against as early as Monday, and are working to identify a third person they believe to be involved.
“We know there are people out there who know who this individual is,” Wilson said.