On a tragic Thursday morning, the life of 18-year-old Jameria Studivent was cut short in Douglas, Georgia. A recent graduate of Pierce County High School, the Blackshear native was a passenger in a car, traveling with two other people down the 400 block of Miller Road. It was approximately 9:10 a.m. on August 7, 2025, when the vehicle was suddenly fired upon.
Struck by the gunfire, Studivent was rushed by the driver to the nearby Coffee Regional Medical Center. Despite the urgent medical care she received, her injuries proved to be fatal. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed by the GBI Medical Examiner's Office in Macon to officially determine the cause and manner of her death. Remembered as a bright young woman with a charismatic air and a big personality by her former teachers, her sudden death left a community in mourning.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect: 18-year-old Prince “PJ” Thomas of Douglas. According to the preliminary findings of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Thomas had been in his yard when he saw the car Studivent was in and deemed it to be 'suspicious.' From his yard, he opened fire on the vehicle. It was later determined that Thomas was acquainted with one of the other individuals in the car with Studivent, yet there was no indication that anything had occurred to provoke the shooting.
As GBI agents and Coffee County Sheriff's Office deputies began their active search for him, Prince Thomas made the decision to turn himself in to the authorities. He has since been arrested and booked into the Coffee County Jail. Thomas is facing a series of serious charges, including felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The case is still an active and ongoing investigation, and once completed, the file will be handed over to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for prosecution.
