Macon man pleads guilty in S&S Cafeteria shooting, robbery attempt

The alleged lookout in a 2013 attempted robbery and shooting at Macon’s Riverside Drive S&S Cafeteria was sentenced to three years in prison Monday.

Dwight Pernel Rainey, 20, struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. Additional charges of attempted robbery, kidnapping and burglary will be dismissed in exchange for the plea.

Rainey also must serve seven years on probation, pay a $500 fine and pay $500 in attorney fees.

Security video showed masked men entering the restaurant at closing time on Sept. 20, 2013.

One of the men struck assistant manager Van Eason with a gun. The gun went off, shooting Eason at the base of his neck as he tried to open the restaurant’s safe. The bullet damaged his lung, liver, a rib and his heart.

Marcus Lesha Huff, 23, the shooter, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in May and was sentenced to 20 years, 10 of them in prison. Lameshia Smith, 21, was an employee at the eatery at the time of the attempted robbery and has been described by authorities as the “orchestrator” of the heist bid.

Smith pleaded guilty Jan. 28 to aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years in prison followed by seven years on probation.

A fourth suspect has never been identified.

Prosecutor John Regan said authorities could show that Rainey was in the suspects’ vehicle before and after the robbery attempt.

Mark Beberman, Rainey’s lawyer, said his client didn’t have a weapon.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Macon man pleads guilty in S&S Cafeteria shooting, robbery attempt ."