In the early morning hours of February 19, 2016, what began as a car ride to an Atlanta bar ended in the untimely death of 40-year-old Travalas Acres of Newnan, Georgia. Acres was driving his silver Kia with three passengers when he was fatally shot in the back of the head, causing the vehicle to crash near the Target shopping center on Newnan Crossing Bypass. The incident was initially reported as a motor vehicle accident around 12:30 a.m.
However, upon arrival, first responders discovered Acres unresponsive in the driver's seat with a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the crash, three men were seen fleeing the vehicle. An investigation into the shooting death of the United States Navy veteran and beloved father of two was immediately launched by the Newnan Police Department. Through witness statements, investigators were able to identify and apprehend one of the suspects, Willie Louis Turner II, who was 31 years old at the time. The other two men in the car, Jonathan Allen and Jemelle Moss, who was Turner's cousin, both testified that Turner was the one who shot Acres. Turner was subsequently charged with murder.
In 2017, Willie Louis Turner II was convicted of malice murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the shooting death of Travalas Acres. Evidence presented at trial included testimony from the two other passengers in the car, both of whom identified Turner as the shooter. Further evidence included testimony that Moss had given Turner the. 410-caliber revolver used in the shooting just before the group left for Atlanta. While incarcerated, Turner also confessed to two fellow inmates that he had shot Acres. Turner later appealed his convictions, but the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the jury's verdict in December 2022, ensuring he would continue to serve his sentence for the murder of Travalas Acres.
