Sydney Maughon, left, Jeremy Munson, center, and McKenzie Davenport, right, appear in mugshots. (Spalding County Sheriff’s Office)
Three teenagers in Georgia are facing felony murder charges after a man died during an egging prank that went horribly awry, officials say.
Sydney Maughon, 18, Jeremy Munson, 18, and McKenzie Davenport, 19, each stand accused of malice murder, battery, and criminal trespass over the July 3 shooting death of Johnathan Gilbert, who also goes by Tyler Lane, according to the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office.
Maughon, who is accused of firing the fatal shots that killed Gilbert, is also charged with murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and her battery charge is considered a crime of “family violence.”
Munson also faces additional charges of murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
“Investigators were able to locate a witness that provided them with information related to the shooting, and through that, they created a direct link between the victim and the suspects,” Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said in a Friday press release.
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After locating a phone number assigned to one of the defendants, law enforcement tracked the cell phone to a residence in Henry County and found the car used on the night in question parked outside, the SSCO alleges. Detectives secured a search warrant for the vehicle and the residence and found the gun they believe was used in the crime, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators believe the incident was precipitated by an “ongoing lovers quarrel” that led the three to visit Gilbert’s residence and “vandalize it by egging it.” But, when the target of the egging saw what was happening to his house, he confronted the alleged vandals, and the suspects ran back to the car, the SSCO said.
Gilbert was unarmed, authorities say. But, as he approached the car, Maughon, a backseat passenger, grabbed a gun and allegedly shot him several times. Then, the car sped off into the night.
The victim’s body was left in the middle of Dobbins Mill Road.
“Because they all plotted and planned together and traveled to the location with the intent to commit a crime that led up to the murder together, they are all culpable just as if they had each pulled the trigger themselves,” Dix said. “They went to egg a house, the victim confronted them while they were doing it, he lost his life, and they drove off and left his body in the middle of the road. Together they bought that ticket; now, together, they can ride that ride.”
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