Macon man sentenced to 20 years in robbery that led to brother's death

Jurors deliberated less than two hours before finding a Macon man guilty of armed robbery in the 2013 heist that led to his brother's death.

Paul Washington Jr., 19, also was charged with murder in his brother's death, but jurors were unable to agree on a verdict for that charge.

Deadlocked, they were split 9 to 3.

It wasn't clear which verdict for murder had the most votes. Bibb County Superior Court Judge Howard Simms declared a mistrial on the murder charge. Georgia law allows a person to be charged with murder if someone dies during the commission of a felony.

Simms sentenced Washington to 20 years in prison.

"You and your brother picked the wrong guy to rob, and it cost him his life," Simms said. "It's going to cost you a big chunk of yours. You chose poorly, Mr. Washington. There's consequences for that."

Douglas Wayne Jackson Jr., the man robbed by the Washington brothers and who fatally shot 19-year-old Darius Washington on Sept. 30, 2013, testified during Paul Washington's trial that he met an escort at the Scottish Inn on Macon's Romeiser Drive.

After leaving the escort's room, he noticed two men behind him. The men, who each had a gun, robbed him as he walked back to his truck, Jackson said.

Jackson pulled a gun from his pocket when one of the men demanded his cell phone.

Emptying his gun, he shot Darius Washington as Paul Washington fled.

Mark Beberman, Paul Washington's lawyer, told jurors during the trial that Jackson was unable to pick the alleged second robber from a photo line-up that included his client's photo.

He said his client, then 17, wasn't involved in a robbery.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Macon man sentenced to 20 years in robbery that led to brother's death ."