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Written by: KC Harrington
Edited by: Cara Thompson
Published May 9, 2026 @ 11:21 PM ET
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Lawrenceville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally shooting two fellow church members in December 2025, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office said.
Javier Aragon Ruiz, 55, was convicted of two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, four counts of aggravated assault and four weapons charges. He received a life sentence with the possibility of parole, plus an additional 10 years, and will not be eligible for release until age 85.
Ruiz had attended church with 17-year-old Jesua Valesca Garcia Perez, 28-year-old Javier Martinez and their family. The teenager’s mother had cut off communication between Ruiz and her daughter after growing concerned about his contact with the girl, prosecutors said.
On Dec. 5, 2025, Ruiz waited outside an apartment complex on Windscape Village Lane as Martinez drove Garcia Perez home. He got into the vehicle, and the three drove toward Harbins Road in Lilburn. At some point during the drive, Ruiz shot and killed both Garcia Perez and Martinez, leaving their bodies inside the car, investigators said.
He then returned to the apartment complex, where Garcia Perez’s sister and her boyfriend confronted him. Ruiz opened fire at the sister and slashed the boyfriend across the shoulders with a knife, narrowly missing his throat.
Ruiz was later arrested in Tennessee during a DUI traffic stop.
District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said the sentencing brings accountability in what prosecutors described as a violent and deadly attack.
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