Macon, Georgia—September 6, 2023—On September 5, 2023, as our Homicide Unit was ready to begin his trial, Jeremiah Wayne Waller, Jr., 41, pled Guilty in Bibb Superior Court to the June 10, 2021, shooting of Patricia Ellen Gamboa, which resulted in her death and the death of her unborn child. On that date, Gamboa, also the mother of a two year old, had been with friends when they located a missing vehicle that belonged to one of the friends. While the three were waiting for law enforcement to arrive to assist with the vehicle retrieval, Waller came out of a residence across the street and began to shoot at the van in which the three friends were sitting. One of the shots struck Gamboa, who was pregnant at the time, in the head, killing both her and her unborn child. The friends made a valiant effort to get Gamboa and her child to the hospital, even flagging down an EMT for help while on the way. Witnesses at the scene identified Waller as the shooter. During a later interview with law enforcement, Waller admitted that he shot at the van and then disposed of the gun. As a previously convicted felon, Waller was not legally entitled to possess a firearm. For the Murder of Gamboa, the Feticide of her unborn child, the Aggravated Assaults of the two other friends, and his Possession of a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, Waller received a sentence of Life to be served in the Geogia prison system.
“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family for the loss of their loved one and for the life that was lost even before it had yet begun. We particularly grieve for the small child who is left to grow up without a mother because of the heinous actions of this Defendant. We can only hope that this family can come together to find some amount of closure for this senseless violence in our community. We greatly praise the efforts of the victim’s friends and all the emergency staff who endeavored to save these lives.” DA Anita Howard
The Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office especially thanks the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for their investigative assistance with the prosecution of this case.
