Bibb County jury convicts man in 2018 killing of John Fleming

Prosecutors say the victim was killed during a meeting over money owed for automotive work.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A Bibb County jury has found Raymond Leverett guilty of malice murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and felony murder in the 2018 killing of John Fleming, the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

The state sought a sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus an additional life sentence to be served consecutively. The court ultimately sentenced Leverett to life with the possibility of parole plus 20 years consecutive.

District Attorney Anita Howard said the verdict brings justice to Fleming’s family after a case that took years to resolve.

“This verdict holds Raymond Leverett accountable for a profound betrayal of trust that ended in tragedy,” Howard said.

Fleming was reported missing in mid-September 2018. His mother spoke with 41NBC about his disappearance.

“I just want somebody to find my child and tell me something,” Larcine Fleming said in October 2018. “It’s the only thing I want to know. They got the car, but they don’t have my child.”

Prosecutors said Fleming, known to loved ones as “J3,” was shot and killed on September 19, 2018, after meeting Leverett to seek repayment for automotive work he had completed.Fleming’s remains were found in 2023 along a stretch of highway in east Macon.

According to the district attorney’s office, investigators proved that Leverett’s financial pressures led to the killing. Evidence presented at trial included phone records placing Leverett and Fleming together on the day of the murder, forensic evidence linking a firearm borrowed by Leverett to the shooting and the recovery of Fleming’s vehicle, which was found hidden inside a warehouse connected to Leverett’s former employer.

Prosecutors also showed that Fleming’s personal belongings were pawned shortly after his death and presented witness testimony indicating Leverett had sudden access to cash in the same amount Fleming was known to be carrying.

The case involved multiple agencies, including the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.