An Augusta man convicted of murder this week was sentenced to life in prison.
A Richmond County Superior Court jury convicted Maurice L. Jenkins, 57, of murder in the May 23, 2018, death of 47-year-old Joaquin Ruiz-Figuero.
Ruiz-Figuero’s body was found wrapped in a tarp behind the Milledgeville Road trailers where he, Jenkins and Keith A. Kearney, 58, lived in May 2018.
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Kearney was also charged with murder, but he died in 2020.
In her opening statement to the jury this week, Assistant District Attorney Deshala Dixon said Jenkins and Kearney beat Ruiz-Figuero — Kearney used an iron tool and a baseball bat — before they dragged the victim’s body to the porch.
It was there that Jenkins stuck a gun in the victim’s ear and fired a shot then shot him a second time in the head, Dixon said.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â