Man charged in 2 Macon murders after shooting at gas station, discovery of hidden body

A Macon man was arrested and charged with two murders after a gas station shooting and the discovery of a hidden body in a trash can, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

Roy Deon Thornton III, 42, faces two murder charges and was being held without bond Tuesday.

The alleged murders occurred within three days of each other, according to the sheriff’s office.

The first incident happened Sept. 14, when a 40-year-old man was shot at Exxon gas station at 36 Spring St. in Macon, then died about a week later.

In a separate incident on Sept. 17, deputies found a trash can “drilled shut” with a rotting body inside, Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones told The Telegraph. Deputies had initially showed up to the scene, which was on a dead-end road on Emery Highway Lane, to investigate a stolen U-Haul.

The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce arrested Thornton just before 7 p.m. Monday and took him to the sheriff’s office Investigation Headquarters for questioning. He was later taken to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.