A Montrose man who shot a Macon man three days before Christmas in 2015 was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.
Torrance Deon Rouse, 23, pleaded guilty to malice murder during a hearing in Bibb County Superior Court. Rouse will not be eligible to be considered for parole until after he has served 30 years in prison.
Here is the timeline of events in the case according to Macon-Bibb prosecutors:
Deleon “Wiley” Hudson, 43, dropped his wife off at work at about 9 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2015, and parked behind an apartment complex on Macon’s Lakeshore Drive to listen to music and play a game on his cell phone before he was due to be at work about an hour later.
Bibb County deputies and Macon-Bibb County firefighters were called just before noon to respond to a report of a Nissan Xterra burning behind the apartments. When emergency crews arrived they found Hudson had been fatally shot in the front seat of the vehicle. A rag stuffed into the gas tank spout had been set on fire.
Surveillance video captured images of a man leaving the area at about 9:30 a.m., at about the same time a gunshot was reported.
The case went unsolved until a member of Rouse’s family came forward in May 2016 saying Rouse had confessed to trying to rob a man and then shooting him after the man made a “sudden movement.” Although Rouse initially denied any involvement in Hudson’s killing, police say he later confessed to investigators that he’d shot him.
Speaking after the hearing, District Attorney David Cooke said, “Mr. Rouse should spend each Christmas remembering Mr. Hudson and what his terrible choice did to Hudson’s family. I hope in time that their fond memories replace the ones from this horrible, senseless crime.”
