Conley Sentenced for Obstruction Charge Connected to Marcus Wilson Case

The male passenger in the other vehicle in the high profile case against William Marcus Wilson has been sentenced in Bulloch County State Court.

Luke Harry Conley of Claxton settled his outstanding cases in Bulloch County State Court last week, including one connected to a 2020 murder investigation that resulted in the eventual involuntary manslaughter conviction of Marcus Wilson.

21-year-old Marcus Wilson was charged with Felony Murder, among other things, in the summer of 2020 after an incident between two vehicles on the bypass in Statesboro resulted in gunfire and a fatal gunshot wound to the head of 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson. Prosecutors ultimately failed to secure a conviction on any of the charges on which they indicted Wilson, but asked jurors to consider the ‘lesser included’ offense of involuntary manslaughter, which they did. Wilson is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence, though he is appealing his sentence and has a hearing on a Motion for a New Trial slated for later this month.

At the center of the headline-garnering Wilson case was another teenager from Claxton, Luke Conley, who was in the vehicle driven by Mason Glisson on the night of the shooting. The defense team for Wilson contended that Conley and Glisson harassed Wilson and his passenger, yelling racial slurs and even attempting to run the Wilson’s car off the road during the incident. During Wilson’s trial, Conley asserted his 5th Amendment right and essentially refused to answer many questions asked of him on the stand.

On March 27, 2023 Conley settled two state court cases in Bulloch County.

Obstruction Charge from June 14, 2020

Conley was charged by the Statesboro Police Department in June 2020 with misdemeanor Obstruction of a Law Enforcement Officer after he provided false and misleading information’ to Detective Travis Kreun during his investigation of the shooting that claimed the life of Hutcheson. Investigators said Conley’s story changed during questioning.

Conley entered a guilty plea on March 27, 2023 and was subsequently sentenced by State Court Judge Joseph Cushner as follows:

• 90 days in jail with all but 10 days suspended
  • Conley was also permitted to report on Friday, March 31 p.m. at 5 p.m., as opposed to ‘immediately.’
• 12 months probation, concurrent to his other case in state court (ST20CR632)
• a $300 fine plus any add-on fees

Hit & Run and DUI Charges from May 7, 2020

Conley also had a pending case against him with the Georgia State Patrol dating back to May 7, 2020. At that time, Conley was charged with Hit & Run/Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Driving Under the Influence, and a host of other offenses while he had three friends in the truck, including Mason Glisson.

According to the GSP incident report, Conley was observed by a trooper crashing “into the island median – head on, drive over the median, and hit an orange construction barrel.” When the trooper opened Conley’s truck door, an open can of beer fell out and onto the ground, though Conley contended it was not his beer. The report also said “Conley smelled of the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” and that Conley had backed into a truck in a McDonald’s parking lot not long before the incident observed by the trooper.

“He stated that he pulled around the vehicle and stopped on the passenger side. He stated the driver and front passenger kept yelling at him to roll the window down. He stated that when he refused to roll down his window, the driver fled down Veteran’s Memorial Parkway. The witness said he called Statesboro Police and followed the truck until it crashed into the median,” the GSP report said.

Conley spent two days in jail for the incident.

According to court records, Conley entered a guilty plea and was sentenced:

• For the DUI offense:
  • 90 days in jail, with all but 10 days to be suspended – to run concurrent to other case from June 2020
  • 40 hours of community service
  • Complete & Alcohol and Drug Evaluation
  • Complete an Alcohol Risk Reduction Course
  • 12 months probation
  • No alcohol consumption or possession while on probation
  • $600 fine plus any add-on fees
  • suspension of his driver’s license for 1 year

• For the Hit & Run offense:
  • 12 months probation to run consecutive to the June 2020 case
    • $500 fine plus any add-on fees

• For Speeding in Excess of Maximum Limits
  • $185 fine
  • 12 months probation to run consecutively to the Hit & Run Offense

The remainder of the charges were dismissed in exchange for Conley’s guilty pleas.

The sentencing sheet notes that the probation is ‘consecutive’ to the other case while the Obstruction sentencing paperwork says the probation sentences are concurrent, or to be served at the same time.

Conley was booked into the Bulloch County Jail on March 31, 2023 to serve his sentence. As of 10:30 a.m. on April 3, Conley remained in the Bulloch County Jail.