Man convicted, sentenced in home invasion that led to Lanier Co. deputy-involved shooting

NASHVILLE, Ga. (WALB) - A man was convicted and sentenced in connection to a 2020 incident that led to a Lanier County deputy-involved shooting, according to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit.

William Welland pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery, two counts of home invasion, four counts of aggravated assault on a peace office, aggravated cruelty to animals and two counts of theft by taking.

Welland was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years.

The incident happened in July 2020 when the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home invasion where the homeowner was shot.

The deputy-involved shooting happened when Welland tried to escape in a stolen car and then shot at law enforcement, according to the Alapaha Judicial Circuit. A deputy on the first day of the job was grazed by a bullet and Welland was shot multiple times.

Before the deputy-involved shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation previously said Welland was in a different car reported stolen out of Florida that was possibly connected to a homicide.

Alapaha Judicial Circuit Chase Studstill said the victim of the home invasion “survived but received permanent and lifelong injuries at the hands of William Welland.”

“There was considerable pressure to have Mr. Welland extradited to Florida to have Florida officials prosecute him for the alleged homicide in Tampa. However, we felt that it was important that the Georgia victims of this man’s rampage be given some justice even though it has forever changed their lives, and they can never be made whole. The devastation that this man caused in our community will never be forgotten. He shot a Lanier County deputy on her first day on the job. He shot a Lanier County man in the head, leaving him with lifelong physical injuries and lifelong emotional and psychological injuries. That man and his family will never be the same,” Studstill said.

Welland is awaiting extradition back to Florida, according to Studstill.

Studstill thanked everyone involved in the case.

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