In the early morning hours of Saturday, November 19, 2022, the life of 39-year-old Robert May III of Milledgeville, Georgia, was tragically cut short on College Avenue in Sparta. Hancock County deputies responded to a call and discovered May lying in the street, the victim of a fatal shooting. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was brought in to assist the Hancock County Sheriff's Office with the case.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect, 20-year-old Treyvion Markise Crayton of Sparta. Arrest warrants were issued, and Crayton was taken into custody, initially charged with Felony Murder, Malice Murder, and Aggravated Assault. Investigators determined that the shooting stemmed from a dispute between the two men. The incident was particularly brutal, as it was revealed that May had been shot at point-blank range in the head with a large-caliber. 223 rifle. The bullet-riddled body of Robert May III was found beside his girlfriend's car on the street that was known as a popular local hangout.
As the case moved through the legal system, further harrowing details emerged. At a court proceeding, prosecutors presented evidence that included a home security video that captured the shooting, as well as another video showing Crayton at his residence reenacting the killing. This chilling reenactment reportedly showed him pretending to fire an AR-style rifle downwards. The evidence indicated that Crayton first shot May in the shoulders before firing an additional ten shots into his face and head. During the investigation, two firearms, a Glock. 40-caliber pistol and an AR-style rifle, were found in the victim's vehicle. The motive behind the initial dispute that escalated so tragically was never publicly clarified by authorities.
In a turn of events on the morning his trial was set to begin, Treyvion Markise Crayton chose to enter a blind plea of guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. This plea meant that while the state agreed to the reduced charge, the sentence would be solely at the discretion of Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Alison T. Burleson. Before the sentencing, Robert May III's mother, Betty Simmons of Milledgeville, addressed the court, expressing the profound and unending loss of her son and requesting the maximum possible sentence for Crayton. After considering all the facts, Judge Burleson sentenced Treyvion Crayton to 20 years in prison. Following the sentencing, he was to be transferred from the Hancock County Jail to the Georgia Classification Prison near Jackson before being assigned to a long-term facility within the Georgia Department of Corrections.
