Getaway driver sentenced to 20 years in Macon carjacking case

The case stems from a May 1, 2023, carjacking on Mint Green Lane.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A man who admitted driving the getaway vehicle during a 2023 carjacking in Macon has been sentenced to 20 years, according to the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Wali Cooke was sentenced August 5 in Bibb County Superior Court after pleading guilty to one count of robbery by force. He was sentenced to 20 years, with the first 10 years to be served in prison.

The case stems from a May 1, 2023, carjacking on Mint Green Lane.

According to the district attorney’s office, the victims told investigators they were pulling into their driveway when a white SUV approached. A group of armed, masked suspects got out of the SUV, held the victims at gunpoint and demanded their Nissan.

The suspects then fled in the stolen vehicle.

The district attorney’s office said Cooke admitted to investigators that he rode to the scene with his co-defendants and drove the getaway vehicle while the others held the victims at gunpoint and took their vehicle.

Cooke was 17 at the time of the robbery and was considered an adult under Georgia law.

Investigators identified Cooke’s co-defendants as Kristopher Whitaker and Kendall Whitaker. Both have been charged with armed robbery and have not yet been tried, according to the district attorney’s office.

The district attorney’s office said the Whitakers were juveniles at the time of the offense and are being tried as adults because of the charges they face.