A murder in a Henry County motel will keep a Jonesboro man in prison for the rest of his life.
Tory Leroy Jones, Sr., was sentenced to life without parole plus 10 years by Henry County Superior Court Judge John A. “Trea” Pipkin III. The 47-year-old defendant was convicted Aug. 9 by a jury of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The jury found that Jones shot Elimisha Gates, his ex-girlfriend, in the back of the head while she was asleep at the Express Inn and Suites on Hwy. 138 in Stockbridge. The incident took place Aug. 22, 2016, after which Jones fled to Alabama. Gates was found the next day inside the motel room by a maintenance man.
“This was a brutal and senseless killing,” said Henry County District Attorney Darius Pattillo. “I am pleased this heartless and dangerous individual will never walk the streets of Henry County or anywhere else again.”
This case was prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Homicide and Gang Unit, which Pattillo created in 2018.
