Second man sentenced to 15 years in attack on Macon’s ‘pistol-packing granny’
A little more than three years ago, Lulu Campbell fired shots at armed men who tried to rob her as she sat in her truck about 2 a.m.
The man authorities contend stood in front of the truck and emptied his gun while exchanging gunfire with Campbell had three prior felony convictions.
Knowing his history and that he faced a possible 55-year prison sentence if convicted at trial, D’Antre H. Shivers pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted armed robbery.
Shivers, 34, was sentenced to 30 years, 15 of them in prison without the possibility of parole. Two additional charges were dismissed in exchange for the plea.
In the early-morning hours of April 21, 2012, Campbell had left one of her Macon-area convenience stores and was dropping off her grandson at her daughter’s English Avenue home.
As she sat in her truck, two men with guns approached her and asked for money.
Fearing for her life, Campbell fired at the men, shooting 36-year-old Brenton Lance Spencer in the chest.
Spencer and the other man -- later identified as Shivers -- left in a Mazda Tribute that crashed at the Flash Foods at the intersection of College and Forsyth streets, not far from The Medical Center, Navicent Health, said prosecutor Neil Halvorson.
Shivers hid the men’s guns behind the stores and left. Spencer was treated at the hospital, Halvorson said. He pleaded guilty last year to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Shivers’ DNA was found on a gun recovered from behind the store and on items in the wrecked vehicle.
Debra Gomez, Shivers’ lawyer, said two of the prosecution’s witnesses have reported seeing a third person at the store, but that person never has been identified.
She said her client pleaded guilty because he thought it was in his “best interest.”
Campbell didn’t attend Tuesday’s hearing because she was afraid, Halvorson said during the hearing.
She’s scared to go places by herself, especially at night, Halvorson read aloud from a statement Campbell gave a District Attorney’s Office victim advocate.
“Sometimes she’s so scared to leave the store that she sleeps there overnight to keep from having to leave alone in the dark,” Halvorson said.
In the days after the incident, Campbell gained notoriety, being dubbed a “pistol-packing granny.”
“She would in a heartbeat trade that notoriety for peace of mind,” Halvorson said.
Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.
This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Second man sentenced to 15 years in attack on Macon’s ‘pistol-packing granny’ ."