Warner Robins man indicted on murder charges

June 29--A Houston County grand jury has indicted a Warner Robins man on murder charges in connection with a shooting outside his home earlier this year.

Marcus Maurice Rutledge, 35, was indicted Tuesday on charges of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

He is charged with shooting Brian David Williams, 43, once in the face with a .25 caliber handgun about 10:25 p.m. April 16 outside his residence at 115 South Second St. in Warner Robins. Williams died three days later.

The bullet traveled through the victim's nose and struck his brain, resulting in severe brain damage and later death, according to the arrest warrant and indictment.

Prosecutor Dan Bibler said arriving police found Williams lying on the ground. Rutledge walked up while officers were on the scene and allegedly told them he had shot Williams, Bibler said.

A motive for the shooting is not known, Bibler said.

In addition the Second Street address, the indictment lists a second address for Rutledge in Centerville.

Rutledge, who has an out-of-state conviction for possession of a stolen vehicle, has two other unrelated cases against him pending in Superior Court.

Rutledge is accused of shooting another man in the chest with a handgun on July 10 of last year.

He was indicted in October of last year on charges of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and theft by receiving stolen property.

According to the arrest warrant, Michael Murray, a double-amputee, was sitting in a wheelchair when he was shot and rolled himself to the Warner Robins Police Department for help.

A witness told police she saw the two men arguing in a street but did not see the shooting. Murray picked Rutledge out of a police photographic lineup, the warrant stated.

According to the indictment, Rutledge was convicted in General Sessions Court in Florence, South Carolina, for possession of a stolen vehicle on Feb. 1, 2001. The possession of a weapon charge was in relation to the handgun used in the shooting, Bibler said.

The theft-by-taking charge was in reference to a 12-gauge shotgun that was reported stolen in unrelated burglary in 2011, according to an arrest warrant. The shotgun, which was the property of what is now the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, was recovered in a search of Rutledge's apartment.

The gun was reported as stolen by then-Macon police officer Thoy McFarland-Bunleijdeagh before the police department and sheriff's office were consolidated. Rutledge told police he purchased the shotgun off the street for $100 from a person he would not name, according to a warrant.

Rutledge was indicted separately in another indictment on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in relation to the shotgun, Bibler said.

In an unrelated indictment, three people were charged with violation of the state's racketeering and corrupt organizations act for the alleged distribution of illegal drugs and for alleged insurance fraud.

Michael Leon Roberts, 45, his wife, Stacey Haslem Roberts, 41, and Shirley Ann Tolbert, 52, all of Warner Robins, were among those arrested earlier this year in a large-scale drug sting.

Michael Roberts was also indicted on several counts of insurance fraud. He allegedly took out insurance policies on people falsely stating that he was a relative and later collecting upon their deaths, according to the indictment. The money was allegedly deposited into his wife's bank account, and Tolbert allegedly portrayed herself as the caretaker, according to the indictment.

Stacey Roberts and Tolbert were also charged with several counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Michael Roberts and a fourth person, Wendy W. Roberts Jr., 49, of Warner Robins, were also indicted on multiple counts of conspiring to violate the state's controlled substances act. Michael Roberts allegedly had Wendy Roberts continue the illegal drug operation while he was in jail, according to the indictment.

In another, unrelated indictment, Milton Jamall Winchester, 41, of Warner Robins, was charged with attempted armed robbery, home invasion, aggravated assault, kidnapping and possession of a firearm during the commission of crime.

He's accused of a Jan. 12 home invasion on Hampton Circle in Warner Robins in which the residents were held against their will at gun-point and at knife-point during the incident, according to the indictment.

Becky Purser: 478-256-9559, @BecPurser

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