Macon woman sentenced to 20 years for shooting teen

Update: A judge sentenced Elisabeth Cannon to 20 years Wednesday for shooting 15-year-old Vernon Marcus Jr. after the 48-year-old woman accused the boy of throwing rocks at her home in January 2017.

Cannon pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in March, and will spend 15 years in prison and five years on probation.

The shooting happened Jan. 16, 2017, as Marcus Jr. and his friend walked home on Bloomfield Dr. around 7:30 p.m. The two were out of school for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and were returning home from buying snacks at the store. That’s when police say Cannon shot Marcus Jr. in the back of the head with a .38 pistol. He was found 56 feet away from Cannon’s property and ultimately survived the shooting. Marcus Jr.’s mother testified in court saying her son is still unable to speak and has other side effects.

Cannon says she shot at Marcus Jr. and his friend because they were throwing rocks at her home, but in pre-trial testimony, Cannon’s daughter says she didn’t hear anything before the shooting and didn’t see any damage to the home. Cannon’s daughter also testified that her mother shot a man with a pellet gun in 2016 as he stood in a ravine near the Cannon home.

During Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors played a police body camera video recorded a few hours before the shooting in which Cannon talked to Bibb deputies about having a gun for protection. She also complained in phone messages to the mayor’s office about gangs, Section 8 housing and black males loitering on the sidewalk.

Bibb County deputies showed up to Cannon’s home prior to the shooting and explains he can’t do anything about the boys bothering Cannon bc they’re underage. Cannon warns deputies that she will take matter into her own hands next time to defend herself. @41NBC pic.twitter.com/8SlIFH7H7I

— Edna Ruiz (@ednaruiztv) April 4, 2018

The courtroom is listening to Cannon’s voicemail to the Mayor’s office. Cannon goes on to complain about section 8 housing and referring to some of those residents “little terrorists.” @41NBC pic.twitter.com/XdlCvKAlvY

— Edna Ruiz (@ednaruiztv) April 4, 2018

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MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Sentencing is set next month for the Macon woman who shot a teenager last year on Bloomfield Drive

48-year-old Elisabeth Cannon pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.

Last year, Cannon told authorities that a group of boys were throwing rocks at her Bloomfield Drive home, so she fired shots into the crowd.

16-year-old Vernon Marcus Jr. was shot in the back of the head and found on a sidewalk.

In a statement, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke said,

“With today’s guilty plea we are one step closer to getting justice for Vernon, his family and the community. We look forward to the sentencing on April 4.”

Cannon was arrested after entering a guilty plea this week.