Dontavious Reese sentenced to 15 years in prison for fatal 2024 crash that killed three

Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its initial publication to include additional information from Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards regarding the investigation.

ALBANY — Nearly two years after three young men were killed when the car they were riding in crashed while fleeing a Georgia State Patrol trooper, the driver and sole survivor was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison.

Dontavious Reese was sentenced in Dougherty County Superior Court to 25 years, with 15 years to serve in prison and the remaining 10 on probation, after accepting a plea agreement as his case was preparing to go before a jury.

Reese pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree homicide by vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, speeding, reckless driving, driving on the wrong side of the roadway and disregarding a traffic control device.

The charges stemmed from a crash in the early morning hours of Oct. 27, 2024, when Reese fled an attempted traffic stop before crashing a white Mercedes in Albany. His passengers — Jakwon Hill, 18, Zion McClendon, 20, and Quantavious Vicks, 17 — were ejected and killed. Reese survived.

The case was set for trial this week, with jury selection beginning Monday before Superior Court Judge Victoria Johnson. Reese instead accepted the negotiated plea Tuesday, pleading guilty to all charges except felony murder.

Johnson imposed the sentence under Georgia’s First Offender Act, meaning Reese will serve the prison and probation portions of his sentence without a formal adjudication of guilt while he remains under first-offender treatment.

Family members of Hill and McClendon addressed the court before sentencing and, despite the losses they suffered, asked Johnson to consider Reese’s youth in determining his punishment.

Hill’s aunt, Jessica Cross, spoke about the relationship among the young men and their families. Reese is permitted under the terms of his sentence to maintain contact with the victims’ families.

District Attorney Greg Edwards focused on Reese’s decision to flee when the trooper attempted to stop him — a decision that turned what began as a speeding violation into a criminal case involving three deaths.

The chain of events began shortly before 2 a.m. Oct. 27, 2024.

According to information released by GSP following the crash, a trooper observed the Mercedes traveling approximately 75 mph in a 40-mph zone and attempted a traffic stop. Reese did not stop.

The Mercedes continued through Albany before crossing railroad tracks near South Magnolia Street and Broad Avenue, becoming airborne and striking a tree and utility pole before breaking apart.

Hill, McClendon and Vicks were ejected and died. Reese remained in the driver’s seat and was transported for treatment of his injuries.

Loaded firearms also were recovered from the wrecked vehicle, according to GSP, a discovery that briefly connected the crash to another major investigation unfolding in Albany.

Eight days earlier, gunfire had erupted during Albany State University’s homecoming festivities.

De’Marion Tashawn Daniels, 19, of Newnan, was killed, and several others were injured in what investigators would eventually determine were two shootings on the ASU campus about five minutes apart.

Following the Oct. 27 crash, GSP initially reported preliminary information from the Albany Police Department indicating the occupants of Reese’s vehicle and the firearms recovered from it were believed to be connected to the ASU shootings.

GSP qualified that information later the same day, emphasizing that the possible connection was preliminary and had not been confirmed. The agency said it was investigating the crash and directed questions about the ASU investigation to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Edwards told The Albany Herald on Thursday that, to his knowledge, the suspected connection between the occupants of Reese’s vehicle and the ASU shootings remained speculation and that his office had no information establishing such a link.

The ASU shooting investigation was handled by the GBI, Edwards said, and responsibility for the prosecution was subsequently assumed by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.

Five days after Reese’s crash, the GBI announced charges against Jeremy Marshall, then 18, of Albany.

Marshall was initially charged Nov. 1, 2024, with three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Additional warrants followed. On Dec. 9, Marshall was served with charges including murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with Daniels’ death.

The investigation ultimately produced a broader prosecution.

In August 2025, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s Gang Prosecution Unit presented the case to a Dougherty County grand jury, which returned a 29-count indictment against Marshall.

Marshall was indicted on one count of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, eight counts of aggravated assault, 12 alleged violations of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and one count of first-degree criminal damage to property.

The charges are allegations, and Marshall is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Edwards’ response provides additional context to the initial suspected connection but does not establish what information prompted it or whether the GBI later affirmatively ruled it out.

The absence of Hill, McClendon and Vicks from later public accounts of the ASU investigation does not establish that investigators cleared them. Rather, the available information — including Edwards’ statement that his office has no information establishing a connection — leaves unanswered what became of the original investigative lead and whether forensic, ballistic or other evidence was used to evaluate it.

Reese’s sentence also carries a legal distinction that can be easily misunderstood.

Georgia’s First Offender Act allows certain eligible defendants without a previous felony conviction to be sentenced without the court entering a formal adjudication of guilt. First-offender treatment does not mean Reese avoided punishment or incarceration.

Reese pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years. He must serve 15 years in prison followed by 10 years on probation as ordered by the court.

If Reese successfully completes his first-offender sentence, he can be discharged without a felony conviction being entered against him. If his first-offender status is revoked because of a qualifying violation, however, the court can adjudicate him guilty and impose a sentence as permitted by law.

Tuesday’s plea also means a jury will not decide Reese’s guilt or innocence. Through the plea, he accepted responsibility for fleeing the attempted traffic stop and for the driving offenses that resulted in the deaths of Hill, McClendon and Vicks.

The sentencing resolves Reese’s criminal case nearly two years after the crash, while the separate prosecution arising from the ASU shootings continues.