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Jennings sentenced to life plus 15 in attack on Tignall teen and mother Antorres Ulysses Jennings, 21, has been sentenced to prison for life plus 15 years for his attack on a Tignall teen and her mother in April 2005. In Wilkes County Superior Court last week, Judge Harold A. Hinesley presiding, Jennings chose to waive a jury trial and was found guilty on six of nine counts stemming from the attack on his former girlfriend, Deidre Wynn, and her mother, Gaynell. Both women testified in the trial, telling the court what had happened and the effect it had on them, Senior Assistant District Attorney Bill Doupé said. The attack, Doupé said, seemed to be "particularly without compassion - just cold-blooded." Jennings took an automatic rifle from his family's home north of Ath- ens "and drove all the way to Tignall, with family members trying to get him to stop," Doupé said. When the Wynns wouldn't open their door for him, he shot out a window and broke in. The women were hiding at the rear of the house in separate bedrooms. When Mrs. Wynn refused to tell where Deidre was, he shot Mrs. Wynn, then went to the other bedroom and shot Deidre. Even after he had shot the two women, Doupé said, he showed no compassion. "He could have said, 'I've got two women hurt badly here, let me stop this and get them some help.' But he doesn't. He just keeps right on going." Wilkes County Sheriff's deputies Bud Harrison and Jerry Hackney arrived and tried to talk Jennings into surrendering or to allow the Wynns to be helped. "He's the hostage-taker you see in TV shows," the assistant DA said. "Only it's real life. That's what shocked me, that at the age of 21, he had no compassion for another human being - they were lying there on the floor bleeding. It was just cold-blooded." When Deidre Wynn appeared shot and bleeding at a window, Wilkes EMS Director Blake Thompson rose from cover and ran to the window to help her to safety. He was recognized for his actions by Governor Sonny Perdue earlier this year. On the charge of kidnapping Deidre Wynn with bodily injury, Jennings was sentenced to life in prison. He was found not guilty of the same crime against Mrs. Wynn. He was found guilty of burglary with intent to commit aggravated assault, and was sentenced to 20 years, to be served concurrent with the life sentence. He was also convicted of aggravated assault for shooting Gaynell Wynn and sentenced to 5 years, to be served after the life sentence, with 15 years probation. He was also convicted of aggravated assault in the shooting of Deidre, and received another five years in addition to the life sentence. He was further found guilty of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and sentenced to another five years consecutively, for a total of life plus 15 years. He was found not guilty on two other aggravated assault charges.
Doupé said that Jennings had been in trouble as a juvenile. "This wasn't his first trouble. He was charged with making terroristic threats against a school teacher when he was 13; then I prosecuted him for residential burglary and arson when he was 15, for which he got boot camp. The warning signs were there."
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