A Lithonia man is on trial this week for participating in a home invasion with two others at a home off Robinson Road in Peachtree City in July 2012.
Gilbert Jerome Jefferson, 29, is charged with two counts of armed robbery, one count of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of burglary and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
A witness to the incident told The Citizen that three men entered the home and demanded money, holding him at gunpoint. The witness said one of the men shot homeowner Ceresa Coffee as she tried to escape to get help.
Coffee was hit in the head by one or more shotgun pellets as she ran into the yard, police said.
The trial is expected to include the testimony of co-defendant Christopher Falkner, 28, of Peachtree City, who has entered a guilty plea in connection with the case.
A trial is also forthcoming for co-defendant Ted Jefferson, 29, of Snellville.
Though a jury was impaneled Monday afternoon, the trial bogged down in conflict when public defender Harry Charles asked the court to throw out Jefferson’s confession based on the statement occurring after Jefferson asked for a lawyer.
Presiding Superior Court Judge Tommy Hankinson noted that such claims are usually settled well in advance of trial. Charles replied that he had just noticed the potential error earlier in the morning.
