Tax Commissioner Candidate Wanted for Murder Turns Self into Jenkins County Jail

A woman wanted for a double murder in Jenkins County has turned herself into authorities.

Shenice Thompson turned herself into the Jenkins County Jail Monday morning around 10:30 a.m., according to the Jenkins County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities had been looking for Thompson, who is a candidate for Tax Commissioner in Jenkins County, since Monday, June 10. A grand jury convened that morning and issued a bench warrant for her arrest following an indictment on a host of charges. Law enforcement located Thompson out of state last week and agreed to allow her to turn herself in on Monday, June 17.

The charges stem from an incident on March 24 in Millen. According to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press release, officers with the Millen Police Department responded to the Annie P. Chance Veterans Center in reference to a shooting around 1:45 a.m. on March 24, 2024. Officers found Tyrell Brown, 28, and Maxine Jones, 48, dead at the scene and requested assistance from the GBI.

Police saw that Brown had been shot, but initially did not see any immediate signs of trauma on Jones. An autopsy later revealed that both individuals died from gunshot wounds. 

A week later, on March 31, 2024, 28-year-old Raheem Montrell Whitfield of Waynesboro was charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime.

The grand jury convened in Jenkins county on June 10 and subsequently formally indicted Whitfield on eight counts, along with Thompson on eleven counts. The two were charged individually and as parties concerned in the commission of a crime.

1. Malice Murder – shooting Tyrell Brown with a firearm
2. Felony Murder – causing the death of Tyrell Brown while in the commission of the offense of Aggravated Assault 
3. Aggravated Assault – making an assault on Tyrell Brown with a deadly weapon
4. Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony 
5. Malice Murder – shooting Maxine Jones with a firearm
6. Felony Murder – causing the death of Maxine Jones while in the commission of the offense of Aggravated Assault
7. Aggravated Assault – making an assault on Maxine Jones with a deadly weapon
8. Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony
9. Making a False Statement – Thompson allegedly made a false statement to a GBI agent during the homicide investigation in what she told the agent she was at her mother’s house at the time of the shooting.
10. Hindering Apprehension or Punishment of a Criminal – Thompson alleged unlawfully harbored Whitfield, a person she knew or had reasonable grounds to believe had committed aggravated assault, with the intent to hinder the apprehension.
11. Tampering with Evidence – Thompson allegedly concealed physical evidence (a gun) involving the prosecution of the offense of murder to obstruct the prosecution of Whitfield.

The case has been assigned to Superior Court Judge Gates Peed.