Wheelchair user sentenced to life for stalking and killing man who attacked him

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A man who uses a wheelchair has been found guilty of shooting and killing another man who attacked him last year.

Willie Lee Jones, 48, was found guilty of two counts of murder, aggravated assault and two firearms charges, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office. He was sentenced to life in prison plus five years in prison with the possibility of parole.

On May 10, 2023, Jones met 64-year-old Benjamin Alonzo Francis at a gas station on Jimmy Carter Boulevard. Surveillance footage showed the two strangers chatting for a few moments before Francis, who had a box cutter, attacked Jones and threw him out of his wheelchair.

Jones sat back down in his chair and called an acquaintance, Michael Joe Kelly Davis, who came to the gas station and gave him a gun. Jones found Francis and shot him multiple times, resulting in his death, prosecutors said.

Before trial, Davis pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Jones told police and the court that he shot Francis in self-defense. According to prosecutors, the jury deliberated for nearly four and a half hours before returning the verdict.

“Vigilantism is not the right way to resolve disputes,” said Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson. “A man was senselessly killed and his family and loved ones must come to terms with his loss. We mourn with them and hope that this verdict and punishment will help alleviate their suffering.”

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