Local & State Headlines

Lee man indicted in death of friend

• Prosecutors contend that a man contributed to an ailing friend's death by not taking him to the hospital.

J.D. Sumner

LEESBURG — A Lee County man has been indicted in connection with the death of a Georgia Southwestern State University student who authorities say overdosed on Xanax and was left at his Fussell Road home.

Matt Blankenship, who was 22 at the time of his arrest last November, was indicted Tuesday by the Lee County Grand Jury on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and concealing a death, Southwestern Circuit District Attorney Cecilia Cooper said.

Cooper said that she believes that Blankenship had a responsibility to take his ailing friend, Jarrod Wills, to a hospital after Wills reportedly overdosed on prescription Xanax pills. Instead, Cooper believes Blankenship drove Wills to at least one other friend’s house before dumping the body at Wills’ home on Fussell Road, where the death was discovered Nov. 10.

Blankenship was initially charged with concealing a death.

Asked if Blankenship’s actions caused the death of Wills, Cooper said, “Yes.”

According to police reports, Wills’ body was discovered after deputies were dispatched to his home to check on him.

Blankenship, who was described by friends to police as a close friend of Wills, reportedly drove the “barely conscious” college student to a friend’s house in Albany around 3 a.m. the morning he was found dead, police reports show.

According to an Albany Police Department report, Blankenship told friends that Wills had taken at least six Xanax pills.

The Grand Jury indicted the man who prosecutors believe sold Wills the Xanax pills, T.J. Jackson. He’s been charged with selling prescription drugs.

Cooper said that a bench warrant will likely be issued for Blankenship on the involuntary manslaughter charge because it was made as a special direct presentment from the Grand Jury.

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