In the early morning hours of February 4, 2025, 55-year-old Willie Floyd Perdue was shot and killed on Warner Road in Barnesville, Georgia. The incident began about 1:00 a.m. when Jacob Benjamin Craft, 42, was reported driving erratically in Perdue’s neighborhood. Perdue went outside to confront Craft, and a brief but violent altercation followed. Craft allegedly exited his vehicle and shot Perdue multiple times.

Lamar County 911 received two calls reporting the shooting. First responders found Perdue with multiple gunshot wounds; he was taken to Upson Regional Hospital and later transferred to Atrium Navicent in Macon, where he died just before 5:00 a.m. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to lead the probe and, after an initial investigation, Craft was arrested and booked on charges including felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

If anyone witnessed the confrontation on Warner Road that night or has information about what led up to it, contact the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office.