Maxine Jones

Maxine Jones, a 48-year-old Black woman and mother of eight from Millen, Georgia, was killed in a shooting in the early morning hours of March 24, 2024. Her daughter remembered her mother visiting her at work just hours before she died, saying she was bored and didn't have anything to do. "They took a mother of eight kids, and her kids won’t be able to see her no more," her daughter later said.

At approximately 1:45 a.m., the Millen Police Department responded to a call about a shooting at the Annie P. Chance Veterans Center on Acorn Avenue. Officers arrived to find Ms. Jones and 28-year-old Tyrell Brown deceased at the scene. While Brown had an obvious gunshot wound, first responders saw no immediate signs of trauma on Ms. Jones. However, autopsies performed at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab later confirmed that both victims had died from gunshot wounds, with Ms. Jones having been shot in the chest. During a later trial, prosecutors would describe her as an innocent bystander who was simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The GBI took over the investigation at the request of the Millen police. Investigators also looked into a second shooting that occurred around 7:10 a.m. the same morning on Wasdin Street, which they believed was connected to the homicides, though no one was injured. The investigation quickly led to a suspect, 28-year-old Raheem Whitfield of Waynesboro, who turned himself in to authorities. He was arrested and charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

In June 2024, a grand jury indicted Whitfield and a co-defendant, Shenice Thompson, who was a candidate for Jenkins County tax commissioner at the time. Both were indicted on charges including malice murder and felony murder. Thompson faced additional charges of making a false statement to a GBI agent, hindering the apprehension of a criminal, and tampering with evidence. Authorities alleged she had lied about her whereabouts, harbored Whitfield, and buried the gun used in the shooting in a ditch in Burke County, later leading law enforcement to its location.

The joint trial for Whitfield and Thompson was held in May 2026. Whitfield claimed he had acted in self-defense during an argument with Tyrell Brown. After just 45 minutes of deliberation, the Jenkins County jury returned its verdicts. Whitfield was found guilty on seven of the eight charges against him; he was acquitted of malice murder in the death of Maxine Jones but convicted of felony murder for her death, as well as malice murder for the death of Tyrell Brown. The jury acquitted Shenice Thompson of all murder-related charges but found her guilty of making a false statement, hindering apprehension, and tampering with evidence.

On May 27, 2026, Raheem Whitfield was sentenced to life in prison. On the same day, Shenice Thompson was sentenced to probation.