Keeton gets 20 years

By Brandon Fincher, community@laurelleadercall.com

June 08, 2007 09:13 am

— A little over a year after shooting and killing Donald Wayne Gavin in the Lone Oak Apartment complex in the Hoy community, Tony Keeton pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter and took a 20-year prison sentence.
Keeton, 31, turned himself in to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 31, after eluding law enforcement for nearly nine months after Gavin’s death on May 11, 2006.
Gavin was killed after receiving a gunshot wound to the chest from a .357 magnum handgun.
After the trial Gavin’s mother, Mary Gavin, said, “I’m glad this is over. By the grace of God, my sons and I can now rest.”
The court also accepted a plea for a 15-year prison sentence with a five-year probation sentence for Wayne Turner. Turner, 64, was charged with burglary of a dwelling house after he broke into a Fifth Avenue residence on May 4, 2006.
The homeowner was able to barricade her children and herself in a room and call the Laurel police who apprehended Turner at the home.
Jones County District Attorney Tony Buckley said he was pleased with the sentences.
“They’re both big pleas. We’re always happy to put criminals away for serious offenses without a lengthy trial,” Buckley said.

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