COVINGTON, Ga. - The Covington man accused of shooting his wife at an Ingles store last year pleaded guilty in Newton County Superior Court Tuesday morning.
Jimquez Swiney, 34, faced multiple charges including criminal attempt to commit murder and six counts of aggravated assault in the May 2016 shooting that sent his wife to a local hospital with a bullet wound to her arm.
He was arrested the day of the shooting after a citizen on Capes Drive saw him trying to break into a residence and called the police.
Swiney was spotted by responding officers hiding behind a tree and taken into custody without incident. The gun used in the shooting was found near where he was arrested.
He was judged competent to stand trial in February after a mental health evaluation by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Newton County Senior Assistant District Attorney Amber Bennett said Tuesday Swiney believed his wife was cheating on him with a co-worker at the Ingles where she worked. He was reportedly off his mental health medications last May 30 when he went to the deli section of the store on Turner Lake Road at around 8 a.m. to meet with her.
After she allegedly said disrespectful things to him, he reached into his book bag and produced a handgun, pointing the weapon at her head before shooting her in the arm.
Bennett said after shooting his wife, Swiney went looking for the co-worker but was unable to find him. She said he then pointed the pistol at multiple witnesses and asked them, "Do y’all want some?” before running off.
Bennett produced written victim impact statements from Swiney’s wife and mother-in-law for Alcovy Judicial Circuit Chief Judge John M. Ott to consider during sentencing.
Saying victim safety comes first, Ott ordered a presentence investigation to gather impact statements from the other victims in the case before sentencing Swiney.
“The goal of the court is to protect society,” he said.
Bennett told The Covington News the presentence investigation could take one to two months.
