COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A man who prompted a standoff at a Coweta County motel after shooting his girlfriend multiple times has pleaded guilty to the crimes.
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On May 11, 2022, around midnight, Coweta County deputies were asked to do a welfare check on a woman at America’s Best Value Inn on Hwy. 29 S. When they arrived, they found a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim was shot in the jaw and stomach and was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting.
Deputies say a guest at the motel pointed them to the room the suspect, later identified as 39-year-old Timothy Leon Washington, had run into. SWAT teams spent 20 to 30 minutes trying to get him out of the room.
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Washington was not armed during the standoff. Deputies say his gun was found in the motel parking lot. Investigators said the pistol had jammed, which is likely to have prevented the victim’s murder.
Officials said both the victim and Washington had been living in a substance abuse facility, but relapsed in April 2022. Then the two began living in the motel.
On Monday, Washington pleaded guilty to several charges, including attempted murder. The 13-count indictment, which also included multiple counts of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm as a felon and during the commission of a felony, charged Washington with shooting his girlfriend multiple times.
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Superior Court Judge Travis Sakrison sentenced Washington to 45 years in prison. The victim appeared at Washington’s sentencing in her wheelchair but she did not address the court.
While Washington is eligible for parole, the Coweta Couty District Attorney’s Office hopes that Washington will serve every day of his 45-year sentence.
“This act of violence has left this victim paralyzed for the rest of her life and if Washington had his way, he would have kept firing until he killed the victim,” the DA’s office said.
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