Man pleads guilty in Crisp Co. Superior Court to Malice Murder and other charges for May 2018 double homicide of two women
CORDELE, Ga. – On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, James Lonnie Smith pled guilty in Crisp County Superior Court before Judge Chris Hughes to the Malice Murders and other charges regarding the deaths of Sheena Jones and Shawna Ware. Smith was sentenced on Thursday, April 24, 2025, to a composite sentence of LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE plus a CONSECUTIVE TWENTY FIVE YEARS TO SERVE in the Georgia Department of Correction.
The plea stemmed from events that occurred in the morning hours of May 5, 2018, wherein Smith went to the residence of Sheena Jones and Shawna Ware in the city of Cordele and shot both women with two separate handguns. Police were alerted within minutes and Smith fled to Houston County where he hid out in a hotel. Later, multiple law enforcement agencies went to arrest Smith at the hotel and Smith engaged in a shootout with officers until he was apprehended.
The GBI investigated both incidents with assistance from the Cordele Police Department, Crisp County Sheriff’s Office, Perry Police Department and Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
Smith pled guilty to Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault (2 Counts of each), Home Invasion, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission a Felony (4 counts), and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon (2 Counts). Originally, the District Attorney had filed notice to seek the death penalty for these murders but it was withdrawn in exchange for the pleas of guilty.
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