Man takes plea deal in 2017 Southside McDonald’s fatal shooting of 15-year-old

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A fatal shooting of a 15-year-old that shook the Savannah community has ended in a plea deal, with the suspect avoiding a life sentence after years of delays in the case.

A mistrial, an attorney conflict, and years of additional hearings preceded the plea deal in the death of 15-year-old George Akins Jr. on October 22nd, 2017.

Shooting happened in 2017

The shooting happened outside the McDonald’s on Savannah’s Southside that Saturday night. Police believe an argument led to the shooting.

Two teens were originally charged in Akins’ death.

One suspect, Trevor Jean-Baptiste, was found not guilty on all counts by the jury. Court records show the state was prosecuting Jean-Baptiste as the driver. Two months after the not guilty verdict, a GoFundMe post and family members on social media confirmed Jean-Baptiste had died. It is not clear how.

The other suspect, Jeffery Jerome Burton Jr., who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was arrested the day after on Oct. 23, 2017, on charges of murder and possession of a firearm and was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Burton and Jean-Baptiste were the only two people charged, although defense attorneys in the case alleged during hearings that four to five people were in the car at the time of the shooting.

A third person, who is not being identified because he is not charged, had the weapon involved in the shooting found at his house, according to court records.

Mistrial and Supreme Court appeal

Burton’s case was tried in front of a jury and ended in a mistrial in July 2021. There was confusion and debate during the first trial over whether Burton invoked his right to remain silent during police questioning.

The Chatham County District Attorney’s Office appealed the mistrial to the Georgia Supreme Court.

The court issued a decision in late 2022, ruling in favor of Burton. As a result, the district attorney’s office could not use statements Burton made to police in a new trial.

Burton was re-indicted following the mistrial, and the process for a new trial started over without those previous statements being admitted. The state also had to recall certain witnesses, one being a woman who was in the drive-thru line when it happened and videod the aftermath.

Online records show she also died, but it’s unclear how.

Plea deal reduces murder charge

This week, Burton took a plea deal, reducing his malice murder charge down to voluntary manslaughter.

Burton was sentenced to a total 20 years, with 10 years to serve in prison and 10 years on probation.

He will receive credit for time served, which is 4 years and 2 months, according to the jail.

Meaning he has 5.83 years remaining to serve in custody.

Burton did not receive first offender status. He was represented by a court-appointed attorney. Court records show attorney substitutions, conflicts and leaves of absence during the years-long case.

Prior to his booking into the Chatham County jail, Burton was held at the Department of Juvenile Justice. He was booked into the Chatham County jail on his 17th birthday.

He was taken into custody again on Aug. 21, 2026. He has a hold out of Candler County right now. An open records request has been filed to determine the reason for the hold, and the outcome is pending.

Court transcripts reveal Burton has an extensive juvenile record. We have filed an open records request to obtain those if possible.

State’s allegations

According to prior court records during a hearing, the prosecutor alleged Burton’s younger sister was at a movie theater on Savannah’s Southside with a group of men Burton did not like.

The state alleged that after Burton heard about it, he wanted to confront the group and contacted a friend or cousin, identified as his co-defendant, to pick him up. The state alleges Burton had a .22 rifle with him.

The group that included the victims moved from the movie theater to the McDonald’s nearby. Prosecutor Tim Dean said a car pulled up and he alleged Burton fired eight rounds across the parking lot in the direction of the group. One man was shot in the torso and survived, aside from Akins who died on scene.

The state believed Burton and Jean-Baptiste then drove to a third friend’s house and left the weapon there. All three were confronted by an officer outside that residence because they were parked incorrectly, blocking the road, and were out in the street at 12:15 a.m.

That encounter didn’t end in an arrest that night.

Court records also state that the residence of the 3rd man was later searched, and the rifle was found there. Georgia Bureau of Investigation firearms testing matched the rifle to shell casings found at the scene and recovered from Akins’ body.

A phone belonging to Burton was found at the same residence, court records show. The state said prior social media posts established that the rifle belonged to Burton and he was advertising that he was selling guns as a teen.

Sentencing conditions

As part of his sentence, Burton is not allowed to have any contact with Akins’ family or with the man who’s house the gun was found at, they also listed the now deceased former co-defendant as well.

He is also barred from consuming alcohol or drugs, or associating with anyone who uses or possesses illegal drugs. He may not violate any laws.

Had the case gone to a jury trial and resulted in a conviction on all charges, the maximum potential sentence would have been life without parole plus 40 years.

Community response at the time

At the time of the shooting, support poured in from around the community.

Members of Windsor Forest High School’s football team donated turkeys, hams and canned goods to an organization called Saving Our Youth Savannah in memory of Akins, a teammate. The donation was intended to help struggling families during the holiday season and to bring comfort to Akins’ family.

“George was like a brother to me. I saw him grow up since his freshman year, coming out there and playing football. It’s more than football to us. It’s a brotherhood to us,” said Marchello Ling. “Akins’ family, I hope they stay strong and know they have 73 different sons, and I hope they are just proud of George.”

“George was an awesome child,” said Carrie Harris, president of the Windsor Forest football booster club. “He was very well-mannered, IB student, honor roll student, very respectful. He was doing everything right. George actually was in the right place because he was supposed to be at the movies. And after the movies, his parents knew he was going to McDonald’s to get something to eat, so as a child, he had that right. But unfortunately, they took away one of the best kids.”

“These boys weren’t bad boys,” Harris said. “They were very good, good boys. Well raised boys, and I can show you 73 more who care about others, who care about themselves.”

The Chatham County District Attorney’s Office said at the time that Akins was not involved in any of its programs for at-risk youth.

Flowers were placed outside Windsor Forest High School, and some students had their faces painted with Akins’ number and “LLG,” for “Long Live George.”

“George is, like, the last person you think would die, so it was just crazy,” said Lauran Smoak, a sophomore at Windsor Forest at the time. “We got here, all of us were together, and the announcements, it kind of like hit us all at once. Everybody was there for each other, taking care of everybody who was crying and just making sure nobody was in the wrong state of mind.”

Savannah Hayden, a junior at Windsor Forest at the time, said she remembered his charisma.

“He was the nicest, most energetic person,” Hayden said. “He never talked bad about anyone. He was basically everyone’s friend. He was a ball of energy, really. I’ve known George since middle school, and he’s always been the person who would check up on me, even if we didn’t see each other throughout the day. He would still hit me up from time to time, and say, ‘Hey, is everything OK? How’s it going?’ It’s just a loss of his energy in the school. Everyone’s just down.”

Junior Leslie Oliva, who shared a class with Akins, said not seeing him there was hard.

“Not seeing him was pretty devastating because he was just really funny,” she said. “Him not being there just made all of us really upset.”

Smoak said she would miss the small things, like his jokes.

“He wasn’t as tall as everybody else, but he still liked to make short jokes,” she said. “He’d be like, ‘Hey shorty, you can’t even reach my high five,’ or something like that. I’m going to miss that. Other people will do it, but it was different because it was George.”

Windsor Forest parent Maurice Irving said he often drove Akins and his brother home from summer football practices, and said he had cut the other 15-year-old victim’s hair the day of the shooting.

“For me to know these guys personally and was personally involved in their lives, I was numb,” he said.

Family reflects on loss

Ch’loe Akins, George’s mother, previously spoke about the loss of her son.

“It’s hard, but we’ve been praying mostly that God keep us content with the 15 years that we were able to share with our son,” she said. “He was an awesome kid. Loved to laugh. His favorite thing, other than sports, football and basketball, was getting fresh. He loved to dress.”

She said she saw a large amount of support from family, friends and church members near and far.

“It’s overwhelming with the lives that he’s touched,” she said. “As a parent, we raise our children, and we teach them respect, how to be mannerable when they’re not with us, and we can only pray that when they’re out of our presence that they’re actually doing that. But to hear the feedback of how mannerable he was, how respectful he was, the joy that he’s brought to many people’s lives, how outgoing he was and just to see so many people who loved him, adults thanking me for sharing him with them, I mean, it’s been overwhelming.”

“I know in my heart that he served his purpose, and even in his absence, God is working through him,” Ch’loe Akins said. “Through my son’s death, people are coming together. We’re mad. I believe I’ve earned that right to be mad. We’re hurting. We’re going to miss him. He was more than just my son. He was my friend. We talked about every and anything, so he will truly be missed. He kept this house on their toes. Anybody fell short, he was there to let them know, and he didn’t let up until you got it right.”

McDonald’s Group and local owner and operator John Palmaccio released a statement about the shooting at the time, saying in part, “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the victim’s family.”

Ch’loe Akins said her son’s spirit and memories would live on.

“Someone took a body, but his spirit yet lives,” she said. “His spirit yet lives. Number 23, y’all will see. God is working through him, and I just thank God for that. He was that guy you would have wanted by your side. That’s what they need to know. I think that’s where most people are feeling the pain at because if you got to know him, even if it was just a moment or a day, you remembered him because he had that much of an impact on everybody he came in contact with. That’s what I want people to remember. If you were a friend of George, you were somebody.”

Ch’loe Akins said the football booster club organized a candlelight vigil in the parking lot at the intersection of Abercorn Street and Apache Avenue. Windsor Forest students released balloons ahead of a football game in Akins’ memory.

“They’ve asked me to allow my other son to actually wear his jersey for the rest of the season, so we’ll see how that works out, see if he’s up to it,” she said. “They cared. They loved my boy. He was loved, and he loved everybody.”