Oglethorpe County Man Sentenced to 20 Years For February Crime Spree

An Oglethorpe County man, with a lengthy criminal history, is back behind bars after pleading guilty Tuesday to multiple felony counts.

District Attorney Parks White said 43-year old Edward Lee Wessinger Jr. pled guilty to a crime spree in February that started in Athens-Clarke County and ended in Madison County.

White said Wessinger was serving a 14-month sentence in an Athens-Clarke County rehab facility for a smash and grab burglary and stealing an ambulance when he left the rehab facility without permission and in violation of bond conditions for another Terroristic Threats case.

Wessinger then came into Madison County where, after he was told he could not ride the bus because he had no shoes, he ordered the bus driver to drive him at knifepoint.

The bus driver panicked, ran off the bus, and called 911.

After she left the bus, White said Wessinger attempted to hijack the bus but was unable to disengage the parking brake.

He then abandoned the bus and went across the street to the Apex convenience store, where he first shoplifted a pair of shoes, then robbed the store clerk at knifepoint, and attempted to cut an employee who tried to stop him on the way out of the store.

White said Wessinger then managed to slip into the backseat of an unsuspecting family’s Chrysler Pacifica and only revealed himself when the family slowed down as they drove into Clarke County, noticing the police presence.

Wessinger was apprehended by members of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol, with assistance from Clarke County.

White said Wessinger pled guilty to Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Hijacking, and Shoplifting.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole for his one-day crime spree.