RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WGNS News) – A man convicted of murdering a 32-year-old MTSU worker over a $50 debt has lost his appeal before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The appellate court upheld the Rutherford County convictions and effective life-plus-12-year sentence imposed by Circuit Court Judge James A. Turner. Gregory Keontae Lyons will remain behind bars unless he obtains additional relief through a higher court.

Victim Javarius Malone was shot and killed during an attempted drug transaction, according to court documents. During the original trial, Rutherford County District Attorney General Jennings Jones told WGNS that the prosecution’s theory of motive centered on a $50 debt Malone allegedly owed Lyons. The district attorney stated...

Appeal - Gregory Keontae Lyons appealed his convictions for first-degree premeditated murder, employing a firearm during an attempted dangerous felony, attempted sale of a Schedule I controlled substance and conspiracy to sell a Schedule I controlled substance. Lyons was 17 years old when Malone was shot and killed on Sept. 27, 2020. Following a review of the trial record, the appellate court affirmed each conviction and the sentence imposed by Rutherford County Circuit Court Judge James A. Turner.

The case began when Murfreesboro Police responded to Gunnerson Avenue shortly after 11:20 p.m. A woman who called 911 reported hearing a sound outside before finding a man who said he had been shot. Officers located Malone lying in a cul-de-sac with a gunshot wound to his chest.

Investigators found a bicycle, money, a lighter, clothing and a spent cartridge casing near Malone. An autopsy determined that the bullet passed through his right lung, struck a rib and severed his spinal cord. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

According to testimony presented at trial, Malone had received $50 from a co-worker to purchase heroin before leaving his workplace at Middle Tennessee State University. Text messages showed that Malone had arranged to buy the drugs from Lyons’ co-defendant, Corey Munsell Lillard Jr.

Digital evidence played a major role in the prosecution. Police examined cellphone records, surveillance video and location data from a GPS ankle monitor Lyons was wearing at the time.

The records showed Lyons leaving his home and traveling to Lillard’s residence before the shooting. His ankle monitor later placed him at the shooting scene from approximately 11:14 until 11:19 p.m. Surveillance video also showed two people traveling through the area on bicycles and later running away on foot.

Police testified that one of the bicycles left near Malone matched the bicycle seen in surveillance recordings and contained DNA identifying Lyons as its major contributor. Investigators said Lyons initially denied being at the scene but acknowledged his presence after he was confronted with the ankle-monitor data.

During his police interview, Lyons offered several different accounts of what happened. He initially said he only heard gunshots and ran. He later claimed that an unidentified person had approached before the shooting, and he eventually acknowledged seeing Malone get shot while continuing to deny responsibility.

The prosecution also introduced earlier text exchanges between Malone and Lyons that appeared to document prior drug transactions and an unpaid debt. In August 2020, approximately one month before the shooting, Lyons repeatedly contacted Malone about $50 that Malone allegedly owed him.

After Malone failed to respond to several calls, Lyons sent messages indicating that he and “CM”—which investigators associated with Lillard—were coming to see him. In another exchange, Lyons sent Malone a coffin emoji. Two days before the shooting, Lyons also sent another person a message indicating that he had $350 for a .357-caliber firearm. Investigators did not recover the murder weapon, and the firearms examiner could not conclusively identify the gun that fired the fatal bullet.

A Rutherford County jury nevertheless concluded that the combined evidence showed Lyons participated in the drug transaction and Malone’s premeditated killing. Lyons received a mandatory life sentence for first-degree murder, with additional sentences producing an effective term of life plus 12 years.

Claims raised on appeal - Lyons argued that the evidence was insufficient because no witness identified him as the shooter, the murder weapon was never recovered and the prosecution’s case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence. He maintained that being near Lillard and present at the scene did not prove that he knew about the heroin transaction or participated in the killing.

The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected that argument. The judges noted that Tennessee law allows a conviction to be based entirely on circumstantial evidence when the combined facts permit a rational jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The appellate court pointed to the ankle-monitor data, surveillance recordings, DNA from the bicycle, Lyons’ changing statements, the previous drug-related messages, the alleged debt and his movements with Lillard before and after the shooting.

The court also found sufficient evidence of a conspiracy to sell heroin. The records showed that Lillard told Lyons he had “something going” before Lyons arrived at his home. The two then traveled together to the meeting with Malone and fled together after the shooting. The judges ruled that the circumstances allowed the jury to find an implied agreement between the two defendants.

Defendant’s age questioned during appeal - Lyons also challenged the trial court’s decision to limit references to him as a “child,” “boy,” “minor” or “juvenile” during the trial. Before testimony began, prosecutors argued that repeatedly emphasizing his age would not help determine whether he committed the offenses and could improperly encourage sympathy from jurors.

The Rutherford County judge prohibited some of those descriptions but allowed the defense to refer to Lyons as a “young man” and indicated that the word “kid” would not be strictly prohibited.

On appeal, Lyons argued that his age was relevant to whether he possessed the maturity and judgment necessary to form a premeditated intent to kill. The appellate court found that this specific argument had not been properly presented to the trial judge. It also noted that jurors could observe Lyons and consider his apparent youth even without hearing repeated references to his exact age. The judges concluded that the Rutherford County court did not abuse its discretion.

Sentence remains in place - Lyons further claimed that the court failed to give sufficient weight to his youth when deciding the additional sentences for the drug offenses and whether those terms should be served consecutively.

The sentencing court acknowledged that Lyons’ age could reduce his level of culpability. However, it also considered his prior juvenile record, which included aggravated robbery, theft and marijuana-possession cases, as well as evidence of repeated heroin transactions.

The court found that Lyons was on probation when Malone was killed and that his criminal activity had become increasingly serious and violent within a relatively short period. The judge imposed six-year terms for the attempted drug sale and conspiracy convictions, ordering those sentences to run together but consecutively to the murder and firearm sentences.

The appeals court ruled that the trial judge properly considered Lyons’ age along with the enhancement and mitigating factors. The judges explained that an appellate court cannot overturn a lawful sentence merely because it might have assigned a different amount of weight to a mitigating circumstance.

As a person who was under 18 when convicted of first-degree murder, Lyons will be eligible for a parole hearing after serving the period required under Tennessee law. However, the appellate decision leaves his convictions and effective sentence of life plus 12 years unchanged.

•  See Past Article With Soundbites HERE.