As jurors were being selected for his aggravated stalking trial, Jonathan Vincent Roland was still doing the very thing he was on trial for, which was contacting the woman a court had ordered him to leave alone. On the morning his trial was set to begin, he pleaded guilty instead to one count of Aggravated Stalking, entering his plea in Bibb County Superior Court on August 13, 2026.
The case stems from conduct in April 2023. On March 8, 2023, a Bibb County Superior Court judge signed a temporary protective order directing Roland to have no contact with the victim, who had made clear she wanted no contact with him. Despite the order, surveillance video captured Roland outside the victim’s home at 11:49 p.m. on April 25, 2023, yelling that she was a “worthless piece of s**t.” He followed that with text messages asking about a PT Cruiser parked at her home, then left a voicemail at 1:10 a.m. on April 26, 2023, calling her a “f***ing whore.”
The case proceeded toward trial, with jury selection completed on August 12, 2026. In violation of his bond conditions, Roland was still contacting the victim, sending her numerous text messages and voicemails during the trial. His grandmother also texted the victim directly, asking her not to testify against Roland. Prosecutors learned of this renewed contact because of the trusting relationship they built with her, which was the direct result of ongoing training the office provides its staff on working with victims of stalking and domestic violence. That training reflects a simple reality. Victims are not always able to come forward with critical information right away, and earning their trust is often what allows prosecutors to secure the strongest possible evidence. In this case, that trust is what led her to bring the messages to prosecutors, giving the State the evidence needed to secure Roland’s guilty plea.
Roland’s message was played on the record in court during the plea hearing. The judge remarked that he had never seen a defendant on trial for Aggravated Stalking commit a new act of Aggravated Stalking during that same trial.
Roland was sentenced to 10 years, with the first eight to serve in the Georgia Department of Corrections. The court also issued a permanent protective order barring Roland from any contact with the victim for the rest of their lives; violating that order would expose Roland to new charges of Aggravated Stalking.
“This defendant was told by a court, in writing, to leave this victim alone, and instead of stopping, he kept contacting her through the very days his jury was being seated,” said Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard. “That takes a particular kind of disregard for the law and for her safety. This case was only possible because of this victim’s courage. She provided those messages at the most difficult possible moment, in the middle of trial, and her trust in our office made all the difference. I’m also grateful for the court’s diligence throughout this case and its clear understanding of how serious this conduct was. I’m glad the permanent protective order now in place means our office can act immediately if he ever contacts her again once he gets out of prison.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Amber Cook and Assistant District Attorney Ariel Bozeman.