On April 6, 2023 a Bibb County jury found Neilisa Shantelle Hendley, 35, Guilty of all counts to include Aggravated Assault against her boyfriend, John Wayne Rawls, Jr. On February 20, 2022, Hendley, who was angry about the breakup between she and Rawls, had come to Rawls’ home and taken some of his property. In the course of her rampage against Rawls, she rammed her vehicle head on into his vehicle while he was standing at the door of his vehicle. His vehicle was hit hard enough to cause the airbag to deploy and hit him in the face. Not stopping at that point, Hendley repositioned her vehicle and drove it into Rawls’ vehicle two more times before she left the scene. When law enforcement arrived, they were able to capture Rawls’ extensively damaged vehicle and the rest of the scene on body cam video. Rawls’ three minor children witnessed this horrific scene involving their father. The body cam evidence allowed the jury to witness all the damage with their own eyes and to return a true verdict even though Hendley and Rawls had gotten back together after this event occurred. For this felony charge Hendley was sentenced to ten years on probation and must attend a Family Violence Intervention Program.
“Domestic violence crimes are some of the hardest that my Office has to prosecute, but are also some of the most tragic. Children should never have to be exposed to this type of violent behavior from those closest to them. The trauma they experience from such events can last a lifetime. These unseen victims are the ones that my Office will always stand up for, even when our own direct victims do not wish for us to do so. I truly thank this jury for having the courage to see and to condemn the wrongs that were committed in this case.” DA Howard
The Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office also thanks the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for its quick response to this situation and for obtaining the evidence that was needed to give the jury a true and clear presentation of this incident.
