A Georgia mechanic was found guilty of murder within the death of one in all his friends, whose stays were found along a “stretch of highway” about five years after authorities said he had been shot to death.
Raymond Leverett was handed a life sentence in reference to the September 2018 killing of John Flemming, who was known by his family members as “J3,” the Macon Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced in a Saturday, January 24, news release.
Leverett’s sentence, which comes “without the potential of parole plus life consecutive,” was issued after a jury convicted him of malice murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and felony murder, in response to the district attorney’s office.
Information on Leverett’s legal representation was not immediately available.
“Justice has been served for John Flemming and his family,” District Attorney Anita R. Howard said in an announcement. “This verdict holds Raymond Leverett accountable for a profound betrayal of trust that led to tragedy.”
Prosecutors said Leverett fatally shot Flemming on September 19, 2018, after authorities said Flemming went to Leverett in search of “repayment for” overdue “automotive work” he had already paid Leverett to finish.
The boys were known to be friends, the Macon Telegraph reported.
In the times leading as much as the killing, Leverett and Flemming were reported to be at odds with one another when Leverett took about five months to work on a Chevy that Flemming had left with him, in response to the newspaper.
Leverett ultimately began planning to kill Flemming, in response to prosecutors, the newspaper reported.
Leverett is accused of fatally shooting Flemming after he had driven his friend to a physician appointment in reference to the treatment for a rattlesnake bite, in response to the Telegraph.
Following the hospital visit, Leverett allegedly “lured” Fleming to a warehouse where he shot him to death, the newspaper reported.
Flemming’s girlfriend reported him missing that month, WGXA reported. He was 53 when he died.
Years later, in 2023, Flemming’s stays were found along a highway in East Macon, in response to prosecutors.
Through the jury trial, the district attorney’s office said that “The State successfully proved that financial pressures led Leverett to commit this crime.”
The office said evidence collected by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI implicated Leverett within the murder.
A few of the evidence included phone records that exposed Leverett was with Flemming the day he was killed, in response to prosecutors.
Flemmings’ automotive was also positioned in a warehouse, which was owned by Leverett’s former boss, the district attorney’s office said.
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Leverett can be accused of pawning off Flemming’s personal belongings following the killing.
Witnesses also testified to Leverett’s “financial situation and sudden access to money on the day of the murder,” prosecutors said.
Before reading Leverett’s sentence in court, Judge Connie Williford addressed Flemming’s family members, in response to the Telegraph, and said, “Nothing that happens here can undo what has been done.”
“But please know that this court has solemn respect for the lifetime of John Fleming III and the remarkable love and strength of his large family and plenty of friends,” Williford added.
Greater than half of the courtroom was made up of Flemming’s relatives and friends, the newspaper reported.