A Richmond County jury found a Hephzibah man guilty this week in the 2024 murder of Stephon Jones.
“Whether the child is 3 or 23, no parent should have to bury their child due to gun violence,” Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared T. Williams after the verdict. “No father should have to hold his dying son in his arms.”
Charlie Demmons, 30, killed Jones, 22, in cold blood, Williams said. “There is no good answer for why Charlie Demmons showed up ready to take a life in the early morning of Oct. 5, 2024,” he said.
ADAs Jarryd Brown and Alex Pacheco established at trial that Demmons was in the parking lot of an apartment complex where Jones lived with his parents. Demmons, a convicted felon, had two guns in his possession and “was spoiling for a fight,” Williams said.
Jones tried to calm him, then raised his hands to show he was not armed. Demmons shot him point blank four times.
The jury took only minutes to find Demmons guilty. He was sentenced to life without parole plus 15 years for malice murder, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
