A superior court judge sentenced a Habersham County man to twenty years in prison for the July 4, 2019, shooting death of a Stephens County man.
Judge Rusell Smith handed down the sentence against Jerry Nathanial Wall, 55, following a three-day trial this week in Clarkesville.
A jury convicted Wall of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault in the death of Roger Dale Littleton. He was initially charged with murder.
The State presented evidence that Wall shot Littleton once in the head after a confrontation on Antioch Church Road on property belonging to Wall’s family. Littleton was unarmed, according to prosecutors.
The indictment charged Wall with one count of malice murder, one count of felony murder, and aggravated assault. “Part of the jury instructions included a charge on voluntary manslaughter,” explains Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Christian. “As a matter of law, the aggravated assault conviction merged with the voluntary manslaughter conviction.”
Following the jury’s verdict, Judge Smith heard arguments and evidence from both the State and the Defense. He also heard a victim impact statement from Littleton’s wife and great-aunt.
Judge Smith sentenced Wall to the maximum sentence allowed by Georgia law for the offense.
This article has been updated with comment from the DA
