Griffin man gets murder conviction in 2015 McDonough home invasion

Joseph Lyons was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and other charges Monday in a deadly 2015 home invasion in Henry County.

Joseph Lyons was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and other charges Monday in a deadly 2015 home invasion in Henry County.

A Griffin man will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole after a Henry County jury found him guilty in a deadly 2015 McDonough home invasion.

Joseph Lyons was convicted Monday of murder, aggravated assault and home invasion charges related to the death of Frederick Jackson and one other person during a break in at the Sable Chase Apartments on Sable Chase Boulevard in November 2015, according to the Henry County District Attorney's Office.

Lyons also was found guilty of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Police said Lyons and his cousin, Tony Lyons, broke into the apartment shared by Jackson, Stanley Babb and Glenn Morgan with the intent to rob Babb of a $50,000 pension he had recently cashed.

Babb told a 911 operator at the time of the incident that he was watching TV when the men entered with the guns. Babb said he was holding his hands in the air when Morgan, who was in the shower but had heard the ruckus, came into the room and opened fire on the men. Tony Lyons was killed in the gunfire exchange.

Jackson, who fled the residence when the men entered the apartment, was later found dead in a field behind the complex, the district attorney’s office said.

While Morgan fatally shot Tony Lyons, Joseph Lyons was convicted of his death because it occurred during the commission of a crime, the office said.

“This was a senseless crime that left two men dead and forced two other men to move after their home was sprayed with bullets,” Henry County District Attorney Darius Pattillo said in a release. “The verdict shows that our community will not stand for this type of violence.”