A Gwinnett County man was recently found guilty of shooting a woman in her sleep while attempting to retaliate against her grandson in 2022, officials said.
Tyree Jaron Simmons, 27, was convicted Friday of malice murder and three counts of felony murder in the Feb. 22, 2022, death of Christine Walker, 64, of Lilburn, according to the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office.
The day of the shooting, Walker was asleep in her extended-stay hotel room that she shared with her 17-year-old grandson at the InTown Suites on Stone Mountain Highway, officials said. It was around 4:30 a.m. when the teenager went to the bathroom and then heard rapid-fire gunshots.
Walker was struck in the head and died in her bed, prosecutors noted.
Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office
Simmons used a “switch” in the shooting, or a small device that can turn a semi-automatic Glock handgun into fully automatic. When engaged, the inch-long device overrides the trigger mechanism to function as a machine gun, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
“She did not deserve to be murdered this way,” DA Patsy Austin-Gatson said of the victim. “The fact that he had a switch ... makes this crime especially egregious. Our hearts pour out for Ms. Walker’s grandson and for her family and loved ones.”
Walker’s grandson told police that he had a prior altercation with Simmons, who had pointed a gun at him. That weapon was equipped with a switch.
Investigators eventually found a Glock 29 with a switch attachment hidden in the cook-top drip pan of the stove where Simmons had been staying before he was evicted.
Over the course of the investigation, Simmons changed his story several times and denied knowing the teen, the DA’s office said.
In addition to the murder charges, Simmons was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault, first-degree criminal damage to property and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He will be sentenced at a later date, but faces up to life in prison.
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