UPDATE: Man sentenced after Jones County attack that left woman severely burned
Roger Cecil Evans will spend the first 30 years in confinement after investigators say he threw gasoline on the woman and intentionally set her on fire.
UPDATE (9/30/26): The man investigators say set a woman on fire in Jones County in April has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 40 years, with the first 30 years to be served in confinement.
According to a Facebook post Wednesday from the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, Roger Cecil Evans entered the guilty plea Monday.
Investigators say Evans threw gasoline on the woman and intentionally set her on fire. The sheriff’s office says she suffered extensive injuries and was hospitalized for several months while receiving treatment and beginning her recovery.
ORIGINAL STORY (5/1/26):
JONES COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Jones County man has been charged with aggravated assault after investigators say he set a woman on fire during a domestic incident in April, according to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.
It happened at a home on Fox Road between the evening of April 23 and the early morning hours of April 24, deputies said.
51-year-old Roger Cecil Evans of Macon was arrested April 30 and charged with aggravated assault.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators were first notified of the incident on April 27 after receiving information that the victim had been admitted to a burn center in Augusta.
During the investigation, a witness told investigators she was at the home with the victim and Evans when an argument began after Evans withdrew money from the victim’s account. The witness said Evans threw gasoline on the victim during the dispute and followed her inside the home with a lighter.
The witness told investigators she later found Evans on top of the victim trying to put out the flames with a blanket. The victim was then taken to Piedmont Hospital by Evans and the witness, authorities said.
Investigators said Evans also called 911 while driving the victim to the hospital and told dispatchers he was driving her for treatment.
The case remains under investigation, according to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.
