Macon Police Arrest, Charge 2 Men for 2008 Murder

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- Two men are in custody, charged with the 2008 shooting death of 55-year-old Gwendolyn Cole. Her home on Bradstone Circle was hit with more than 70 bullets from a semi-automatic assault rifle as Cole went to answer the door on the evening of February 4th, according to a news release from Macon Police sent to 41 NBC News late Wednesday. Bullets struck Cole in the torso and arms, and she died the next day.

33-year-old Marlon Shurell Jackson and 35-year-old Benjamin Leronne Finney are both charged with felony murder. Jackson was apprehended Wednesday, and is in the Bibb County Jail. Finney is in jail in Jones County.

Both men were arrested today after a joint effort from several agencies including Macon Police, the Bibb County District Attorney’s office, the Southeast Regional Task Force, and the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.

Macon Police Chief Mike Burns released a statement about these arrests: “Good job by investigator David Patterson. As I mentioned earlier this week at a press conference, MPD investigators don’t quit. Every case is important to them, and they follow every lead in order to bring suspects to justice, no matter how long it takes. Earlier in the week we signed murder warrants on a case dating back to July of 2011. Today we bring closure to a case over four years old. As I’ve repeated many times, I would match the MPD’s determination and solvability rate to any police department in the country. An excellent week’s work by CID (Criminal Investigation Division).”