thomaston man pleads guilty to malice murder

02/21/2020
           
            Today, Cameron Jones pled guilty to Malice Murder and Aggravated Assault in front of the Honorable W. Fletcher Sams. The defendant was sentenced to serve life in prison for malice murder, followed by 20 years for the aggravated assault. Chief Assistant District Attorney Marie Broder (recently appointed to succeed Ben Coker as District Attorney) and Assistant District Attorney Ashton Fallin prepared the case for trial. The trial was scheduled to begin on March 9th. The defendant entered a guilty plea this morning on what was scheduled to be a motions day. The family and law enforcement were in agreement with the guilty plea.
            Jones pled guilty to the murder of Roderick Crawford, a Lamar County resident. Kiera Williams, a co-defendant, pled guilty to Malice Murder on a previous court date and was sentenced to life in prison followed by 20 years. Both Jones and Williams will now face charges in Clayton County. Williams and Jones shot and killed Crawford at an abandoned house in Upson County.
            "On December 29th of 2018, Roderick Crawford, a beloved father, husband, brother, cousin, and son, went missing from Lamar County." Broder said. "Agencies immediately began to work together to find him and happened upon a modern day Bonnie and Clyde story." Broder continued, "our office worked with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Lamar County Sheriff's Office, the Upson County Sheriff's Office, Thomaston Police Department, Clayton County District Attorney's Office, Clayton County Sheriff's Office, Clayton County Police Department, Forest Park Police Department, and the Towaliga District Attorney's Office to apprehend Cameron Jones and Kiera Williams who were responsible for a multi-county crime spree involving five different men. These crimes would have never been solved but for the diligent efforts of the incredible men and women in these agencies. They put in countless hours to apprehend these dangerous criminals and bring them to justice. Let this plea and sentence be a message to those that seek to do unspeakable harm to upstanding people like Roderick Crawford. Upson County and the Griffin Judicial Circuit will not tolerate crime such as this in our community."