On the morning of October 19, 2017, 16-year-old Jayvon Sherman was walking to Central High School in Macon, Georgia, along Beech Avenue when he was shot in the chest near the old Winship Elementary School. He was found just before 7:30 a.m., taken to a nearby hospital, and died shortly after 8 a.m. The shooting interrupted what had appeared to be a normal school day for the teenager.

Investigators focused on 19-year-old Wesley Jamison Holt after learning that Holt had confronted another student on the same route moments before the shooting. That student, a childhood friend of Holt, was confronted by Holt on a bicycle, saw him brandish a gun, was let go after an apology, and then heard the gunshots that struck Sherman. Deputies later recovered a shell casing at Holt’s home that matched casings from the scene and the firearm described by an eyewitness.

Holt was arrested on October 31, 2017, and charged with malice murder, aggravated assault, felony murder, and violating the state’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, with allegations of association with the Mafia street gang. Witness-intimidation efforts, including recorded jail calls and a direct contact from Holt’s brother before trial, were reported; the key witness nevertheless testified.