Clinch man convicted of murder in Lanier

Jun. 23—LAKELAND — A Clinch County man was convicted of murder Tuesday in Lanier County, the district attorney said.

Lewis Shukung Geddie, 24, was found guilty Tuesday of the murder of Willis Lamar Flintroyal, Alapaha District Attorney Chase Studstill said in a statement.

Geddie was convicted of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and armed robbery by a Lanier County jury, the district attorney said.

On Sept. 9, 2016, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked by the Lakeland Police Department to investigate the shooting of Flintroyal, a GBI statement said.

At about 11:30 p.m., police officers responded to a East Peeler Avenue address in reference to a shooting report. Upon arrival, officers found Flintroyal suffering from a gunshot wound. Flintroyal was taken to the South Georgia Medical Center campus in Lakeland by family members and later pronounced dead, the GBI statement said.

A 32-year-old woman was also transported by family to SGMC in Lakeland with a non-life threatening gunshot wound, the GBI said.

While at the Peeler Avenue location, officers heard gunshots and responded to the area of Martin Luther King Drive and 8th Street. Upon arrival, Geddie was found by officers suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, the GBI statement said. Geddie was transported to SGMC in Valdosta, the statement said.

"This conviction marks the beginning of my office's efforts to clear a backlog of serious and violent cases in the Alapaha Judicial Circuit," Studstill said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.