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Background: News footage of the cemetery where Coybern Jones Jr. was found dead on Oct. 30, 2023 (WSB). Inset (left): News footage of Joe Link in court on Feb. 25 (WSB). Inset (right): Coybern Jones Jr. (Dortch-Williamson Funeral & Cremation Services).
A Georgia man faces trial for allegedly murdering his lifelong friend, although his defense claims the shooting was accidental.
Joe Link, aged 78, appeared in a Clayton County courtroom as the jury examined the events surrounding the October 2023 death of 68-year-old Coybern Jones Jr. Link is facing charges, including malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. Reports from local ABC affiliate WSB reveal that Link and Jones shared a 30-year-long friendship before the tragic incident unfolded.
Their bond came to a fatal end following a heated argument at a gas station in Jonesboro, Georgia, which escalated onto a nearby road close to a cemetery, where one of the men discharged a vintage firearm.
According to Jonesboro police, Jones was discovered deceased on the roadway near a cemetery on the night of October 30, 2023, having suffered a gunshot wound to his neck. Link was subsequently apprehended and charged with murder shortly thereafter.
During the trial, the prosecution identified the weapon used as a .22 caliber revolver, commonly referred to as a Saturday night special. A detective on the scene testified that the firearm was found 36 feet away from Jones’ body, noting, “It was in front of a grave marker.”
Assistant District Attorney Brianna Jordan said the two men had an argument inside an Exxon gas station about money. Link had loaned Jones $30 and let Jones borrow his gun, and they were meeting so Jones could pay him back and return the gun. Link’s defense attorney Erin King told the court that there was a “tussle” over the gun, which went off and fired the fatal shot that hit Jones. King said Link was in shock when he left his friend bleeding on the ground and walked away from the scene.
Jordan said evidence will show the shooting was “not an accident.”
One witness called to the stand was a firearms examiner from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. While being questioned by King, he testified that the gun in question was manufactured before 1968. King asked if such a gun “can go off without any force being applied to the trigger.” The firearms examiner answered, “That’s correct.”
Link pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial is ongoing.