A Richmond County jury found Joshua Zyquell Blockett, 29, guilty Wednesday in a 2019 shooting that left a woman paralyzed from the waist down.
Prosecutors said Blockett was a sex trafficker and drug dealer affiliated with a local gang. He shot the victim in the stomach at a Molly Pond Road motel room. He tried repeatedly to influence witnesses, including the victim, to stop the case from moving forward.
Blockett, represented by Aubree Smith, was callous, prosecutors said.
“While the victim is dying in the emergency room, he’s in the parking lot calmly eating his lunch, drinking a soda and laughing like he didn’t just almost kill a woman,” Assistant District Attorney Jarryd Brown of the Special Victims Unit said.
Richmond County Superior Court Judge John Flythe sentenced Blockett to 20 years for aggravated assault, five years for possessing a firearm during a felony and 10 years for possessing a gun while on probation. Blockett will serve the sentences consecutively and gets credit for two years he already served in jail.
Released on bond in 2021, Blockett was arrested by Grovetown police earlier this year for possessing drugs and a gun. While at the Columbia County Jail, Blockett was charged with possessing crack and powder cocaine to sell.
ADA Joey Bacon was co-counsel with Brown. DA Inv. Billy Kitchens was “tireless” in his efforts to locate the victim and witnesses who were evading being served subpoenas. Victim Advocate Cristina Kalpa was “also instrumental,” according to a statement.
