Putnam County man, woman plead guilty

Published 1:16 pm Friday, December 16, 2016

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Two of the three co-defendants indicted by a Baldwin County grand jury earlier this year in connection with a shooting recently pleaded guilty to assorted criminal charges and received prison sentences. The trio had been living in neighboring Putnam County.

A third person, named as a co-defendant in the indictment that was handed down by the grand jury in Baldwin County Superior Court, meanwhile, remained at-large as of Thursday. Authorities have identified that man as Joshua Dylan Lewis, 24.

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The two defendants who pleaded guilty to charges in Baldwin and Putnam counties about two weeks ago were identified as Jessie Latrelle Holder, 21, and Anthony Charles Goff, 23, according to jail and court records.

Holder, who had been designated a first-offender probationer because of a previous conviction in a hit-and-run case in Putnam County, had her probation sentence revoked during a hearing in Putnam County Superior Court in Eatonton, according to Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Wright Barksdale.

During that same hearing, Barksdale said Holder also pleaded guilty to a felony count of obstruction of a law enforcement officer that happened last month in Hancock County and guilty to the aggravated assault on a 46-year-old Baldwin County man on Jan. 31.

The victim in that case was shot by a long gun but managed to survive.

Holder, Goff and Lewis subsequently were jointly indicted on a charge of aggravated assault in that case.

During an attempt to flee from Putnam County Sheriff’s officers, who had an arrest warrant, Holder decided to escape in a vehicle. Investigator Darrell Turk tried to prevent that from happening by jumping onto the side of the vehicle.

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said Turk was eventually thrown off but not seriously injured.

Authorities later arrested Holder.

She later admitted taking part in the shooting of a Baldwin County man at his residence back in January of this year. At the time of that assault, she was with the other two co-defendants, according to Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Detective Chris Youngblood.

Authorities said Holder and Lewis are boyfriend and girlfriend.

Holder was sentenced to a total of 20 years with the four of those years to be served in confinement, and the remainder on probation, Barksdale said.

Goff recently pleaded guilty in Baldwin County Superior Court in Milledgeville to an aggravated assault charge stemming from the shooting earlier this year in Baldwin County, according to Assistant District Attorney Leonard D. Myers.

Goff was sentenced to 20 years with the first eight of those years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation, Myers said.

Meanwhile, anyone with knowledge as to the whereabouts of Lewis is asked to call the sheriff’s offices in either Baldwin or Putnam counties. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office tip line is 478-445-5102.