MOULTRIE – A Colquitt County jury needed only 34 minutes last week to convict a Norman Park man of killing his brother-in-law.

On a charge of felony murder, Thomas Weeks was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He was also sentenced to five years to be served consecutively on an aggravated assault charge. Convictions on two counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a crime were merged with the other charges.

The trial began with jury selection last Monday and ended with the verdict and sentencing on Thursday.

Weeks testified on his own behalf as the sole witness for the defense after the prosecution rested on Wednesday.

According to testimony in the trial, Rebecca Taylor, Weeks’ sister, told her brother and their father, Jeffrey Weeks, that her husband had been abusive to her and their children throughout the day on Feb. 7, 2022. Jeffrey and Thomas Weeks headed to the residence of Josh Taylor, Rebecca Taylor’s husband, at 11:30 p.m. to confront him.

Weeks testified that his father started toward Taylor’s home first; he said he followed out of a duty to protect his father.

Both Thomas and Jeffrey Weeks were carrying loaded firearms when they entered Taylor’s home, where Weeks claimed a short verbal altercation quickly escalated into gunfire from everyone. He claimed he was defending himself when he fired his .22 rifle after hearing the first gunshot, which he thought was Taylor firing at him.

Taylor was hit a total of three times — not all from Weeks’ rifle — and died on his bedroom floor. Thomas Weeks was wounded in the arm.

Much of the testimony from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner and the GBI firearms expert on Tuesday involved particles found in Taylor’s lung that the firearms expert was able to link to a .38-caliber revolver found at the scene. Dr. Rochelle Simon, the medical examiner who supervised Taylor’s autopsy, said evidence on the body indicated that shot had been fired with the gun in contact with Taylor’s skin.}GBI firearm specialist Catharine Jordan examined three guns found at the scene — Thomas Weeks’ .22 semiautomatic rifle, a .38 Ruger special revolver and a .38 Smith and Wesson special revolver — and said the shot to the lung came from the Smith and Wesson.

Following the experts’ testimony, prosecutor Robbie Roberts called Gwendoline Knighton, the 911 dispatcher who took the initial phone call that night from Thomas Weeks. The audio was played for the jury.

Dispatched to the scene by Knighton was Dep. Joshua Fussell with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office. Dep. J.C. Mustelier, with the Norman Park Police Department, also responded because he was close by.

Once on scene their first objective was to secure the scene and clear the house, they said. Using formation tactics to quickly clear the house, it didn’t take long for one of the officers to locate Taylor in the bedroom.

After checking his pulse and not getting a response, Mustelier backed out of the bedroom as to not disturb the crime scene and took initial photos which were later given to GBI.

Fussell’s body cam footage from the moment of arrival to when Taylor’s body was found and the house cleared was presented to the jury.

Investigator Will Pierce with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene after first responders realized the severity of the situation. Pierce testified that once he arrived, his primary role was locating all parties, including the deceased’s wife and children, who were at other residences on the family stead; securing the area, including the gun confiscated from Jeffrey Weeks; and requesting the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

When the GBI arrived shortly afterward, the case was passed over, and Special Agent Jalisa Williams became the primary investigator.

Before Williams took the stand, however, her co-worker, Special Agent Amy Braswell, testified as she also worked the initial crime scene.

Evidence entered then included the location of the final gun, which was discovered under the bed, and many small black pieces of plastic, which are thought to be a magazine to the rifle.

Braswell described finding several holes in the wall of the mobile home as well as several bloody shoeprints, damage to the front and bedroom doors and a bloody handprint on the victim’s thigh.

The majority of evidence was admitted into court during Braswell’s time on the stand.

When Williams was sworn in, the audio recording of the primary interview between Thomas Weeks, Williams and CCSO’s Investigator Ronald Jordan was introduced.

Beginning approximately 5:30 a.m., the interview took place roughly six hours after the incident occurred.

In the audio, Weeks can be heard describing in detail the events on that evening and his involvement in the death of Taylor.

Weeks stated his sister had come to his house looking for a place for her and the children to sleep due to an altercation with her husband. He said she described the events of the fight, which had lasted throughout the entire day, to both him and their father.

In the recording, Weeks said his father, after hearing her story, took his revolver and got on a golf cart to head up the lane on the family’s homestead to the mobile home John Taylor was in.

During his time on the stand, Weeks didn’t change this portion of the story; however, what happened next was told with two variations.

Weeks testified he did not go inside his home before following his father on foot up the lane, but Rebecca Taylor had testified her brother retrieved a .22 long rifle from the house before walking off.

Jeffrey Weeks was first inside the mobile home, Thomas Weeks said, but it was Thomas Weeks who knocked on the bedroom door.

According to Weeks, when he knocked on the bedroom door it swung open due to prior damage. During questioning by defense attorney Malcolm Warren, Weeks said John Taylor was leaning up in the bed facing the door with a revolver pointed directly at Thomas and Jeffrey.

The prosecutor, during cross-examination, questioned Weeks on why he said during his initial interview with Williams that Taylor was passed out drunk in the bed when the door opened, but now he was saying something different.

Thomas replied that he misunderstood the question Williams was asking him — he only assumed Taylor was asleep due to the light being off and the time being around 11:30 p.m.

Another debated topic during the trial were if the lights were on or not during the incident.

Thomas Weeks claimed on the stand all lights to the home were off when they arrived, but when he walked in he turned the living room lights on, which cast into the bedroom; however, as pointed out and questioned by the prosecutor, during his initial interview Weeks stated it was too dark to see anything because no lights were on.

Thomas Weeks said once Taylor was awake and standing, the three had a short interchange of words before shots were fired. He said Taylor was confused as to why they were there, and Jeffrey Weeks said they were there to confront him about the day’s prior actions.

Thomas Weeks claimed Taylor became belligerent and walked up to them, holding the pistol point blank at him and his father while yelling at them to get out.

Weeks testified he next heard the sound of a gun and saw the sparks from the firing pin.

Not knowing who shot or what was hit as all parties were armed, Weeks claimed he dove behind the bed and was shot in the upper arm while he was trying to find cover.

Firing five rounds from his .22 rifle, which he did admit to having with him when he entered the residence, Weeks explained in court how he lifted his gun above his head and, holding it with both hands, fired toward the sound of the revolver.

{p dir=”ltr”}Weeks said he did not aim to injure or kill, only to respond fire as he was being shot at.

Weeks said his rifle jammed, and once it stopped shooting, he noticed Taylor had stopped shooting too. He dropped his rifle, walked over Taylor’s unmoving body and left the residence where he called 911 and waited outside with his father.

When asked by the prosecutor, Weeks said the whole exchange took only three minutes.

Weeks was convicted of felony murder and aggravated assault, along with two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Jeffrey Weeks has been charged with these crimes as well; he is being tried separately.