Atlanta man sentenced in Valdosta shooting

Terry Richards, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·2 min read
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Feb. 2—VALDOSTA — An Atlanta man was convicted this past week for shooting an unarmed woman at her home in Valdosta in 2021, authorities said.

Matias Rasheed Thomas, 23, was sentenced to life without possibility of parole for armed robbery and 55 years in confinement, to run consecutively, for other charges, according to a statement from Assistant Southern District Attorney Zachary L. Register, who prosecuted the case.

Thomas was indicted Nov. 22, 2021, for armed robbery, aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, first-degree burglary, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the statement.

On March 20, 2021, Thomas stole a car in Atlanta before becoming stranded in Valdosta. On March 28, a woman in the 1900 block of Williams Street confronted Thomas when he was at her front door; he shot her, ran inside, found her car keys, took her vehicle and fled, according to the statement.

Police responded to reports of a shooting and found the injured woman, according to a Valdosta Police Department statement.

The woman, who was taken to the hospital by EMTs, identified the suspect as the man who stole her car and fled, according the police statement.

Officers pursued the car south on U.S. 41 into Hamilton County, Fla., with the help of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, the Lake Park Police Department, the Echols County Sheriff's Office, the Georgia State Patrol and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, police said.

The driver ran on foot after wrecking the car in Hamilton County; police could not find him following a manhunt, police said.

Hamilton County deputies identified Thomas from a BOLO and took him into custody without incident, according to Valdosta police.

"Our office believes the appropriate sentence was handed down for the violent acts committed in this case," Register said. "I commend the Valdosta Police Department, Detective Heather Turner and the witnesses who helped render aid and ultimately testify in the trial on behalf of the victim. The actions of those involved in helping this victim shows the true spirit of our community and the sentence imposed sends a message that we will not tolerate these senseless acts of violence."

Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.