Men sentenced in Albany attempted assassination plot conviction

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The victim of an Albany convenience store shooting has finally received justice as the suspects have been sentenced.

In 2018, Andrea Willis went into Brother’s Convenience Store for a coffee and left paralyzed. Four years later, Andrea and her mother can put the incident behind them.

“To have it all behind us now, and I’ve always stated that it doesn’t change anything. But it does give a little relief knowing that you did get justice for an unnecessary, you know it was just unnecessary,” Bridgette Shealy, Willis’ mother, said.

Shealy said the sentencing was just what she and her daughter needed to move on. She also said that Willis forgave the men during the sentencing.

“She wasn’t going to make a statement, but I guess that she heard what was being said. She actually told them that it’s a higher power that she looks up to and that she knows that she couldn’t make it into heaven holding things in her heart,” Shealy said.

Darrell Eiland and Ernest Hudson were found guilty of attempted assassination back in June for shooting Willis.

Eiland, the man who shot Andrea, received 35 years in total for the crime.

Hudson, also a relative to Willis, received a total of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. During the trial in June, Hudson told the jury he believed Willis robbed him, which is why the shooting happened.

“He also was on probation at the time and had his probation revoked. But that was to be served concurrent with the sentence from the break. So, he got a total of 10 years to be served in prison,” Greg Edwards, Dougherty district attorney, said.

Eiland’s charges consisted of conspiracy to commit murder, two aggravated assault charges, an aggravated battery charge and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Copyright 2022 WALB. All rights reserved.