Athens man allegedly shot Jefferson teen multiple times before dumping body

By Joe Johnson

Willie Tremaine Nickholas Evans, 27, allegedly shot 19-year-old Joshua Wick multiple times and then dumped the murder victim's body on a side road last month in Jackson County.

Evans was arrested two weeks ago on a separate matter while driving in Barrow County, at which time he was served with warrants in connection with charging him with Wick's death, said Jefferson Police Chief Joe Wirthman.

The warrants charge Evans with malice murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Wirthman said Wick’s body was found the afternoon of Jan. 20 by a motorist driving on Holders Siding Road near U.S. Highway 129. He said the teen had been killed elsewhere before his body was dumped in Jackson County.

Until Wednesday, Jefferson police had withheld details of the way in which Wick was killed.

A motive for the alleged murder has yet to be established, according to Wirthman.

Evans' arrest came two years after he beat charges of malice and felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in a Clarke County trial.

He allegedly had been the person who on June 13, 2019 fatally shot 51-year-old David Lee Burnette in the victim’s home at the University Oaks apartment complex off of West Broad Street in Athens.

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