After threatening to fight a woman over Instagram drama last year, Sydney Maughon decided to visit her Spalding County home with the intention of egging it and attacking her, prosecutors said.
But when she arrived with two friends, one of whom had a handgun, Maughon became “enraged,” prosecutors said. She had just discovered that Jonathan Tyler Gilbert, a man with whom she had a relationship, was at the woman’s house without her knowledge, Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie G. Broder said in a statement.
After Gilbert had eggs and rocks thrown at him, he was seen on video running to the rear of the home. Maughon then urged one of the other two people to “shoot him, shoot him” upon getting into a vehicle, the DA’s office said. The other suspects were identified as Jeremy Munson, the man with the gun, and Mackenzie Davenport, who prosecutors said threw eggs and rocks along with Maughon.
“(Seconds later), Mr. Gilbert then approaches the vehicle, unarmed, and Ms. Maughon takes Mr. Munson’s firearm and shoots Mr. Gilbert two times,” prosecutors said.
On Nov. 20, Maughon pleaded guilty to malice murder in the killing, which officials deemed senseless and tragic. Spalding Superior Court Judge Ben Coker then sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Maughon cannot be considered for parole until she has served “every day of at least 30 years,” Broder said.
On July 3, 2023, the three suspects went to egg the home along Dobbins Mills due to an “ongoing lovers quarrel,” according to officials. When Gilbert, who was visiting the home, saw what they were doing to it, he came outside unarmed and confronted them, Sheriff Darrell Dix said.
The suspects ran back to the vehicle and Maughon, who was a backseat passenger, pulled out a firearm and shot Gilbert as he approached, Dix said. Officials said Gilbert was left in the middle of the road and was found by police responding to the 911 call.
According to prosecutors, Davenport immediately ran for help and got someone to call 911, while Maughon and Munson drove back to the home they shared with Maughon’s parents. After telling her father what happened, the pair gave him the handgun, which he hid in a closet, the DA’s office said.
“The father then tells them not to call the police, but to let the police find them,” prosecutors said. “Maughon and Munson then go to work at Pizza Hut.”
Credit: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Maughon and Munson, who were both 18 at the time, were eventually found through Davenport’s help after she left her shoes and cellphone in the car. Prosecutors said Davenport allowed deputies to track her phone, which led to their capture. The car and the suspected gun used in the crime were eventually found at an unnamed residence, officials said.
According to the DA’s office, Davenport, who was 19 at the time, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, while Munson has “yet to resolve his case.”
“This case is absolutely senseless and tragic. Ms. Maughon coldly, callously and maliciously shot and killed a young man that had nothing to do with the drama she wanted to create with this other female,” Senior ADA Audrey Holliday said in a statement. “She and Mr. Munson then left him in the street to die and went to work.”
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