How a Botched Plot to Egg a Man's House Over 'Lover’s Quarrel' Led to Murder Conviction for Teen

Sydney Maughon, 19, was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting Johnathan Gilbert in 2023

A young Georgia woman who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a man after a plan to egg his house went horribly wrong has been sentenced to life in prison.

On Nov. 20, Sydney Maughon, 19, reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to malice murder in connection with the 2023 shooting death of Johnathan Gilbert, 22, online court records show.

On Dec. 2, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The sentence stems from an incident on July 3, 2023, when Spalding County sheriff’s deputies found Gilbert dead on the ground from an apparent gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said in a release.

“It appears that there was an ongoing lovers’ quarrel and the suspects decided to go to Gilbert’s residence on Dobbins Mill and vandalize it by egging it,” Sheriff Darrell Dix said in the release.

Maughon, then 18, was there with Jeremy Munson, who was 18 at the time, and McKenzie Davenport, who was 19 at the time, the sheriff said.

Related: 3 Georgia Teens Accused of Murdering Man After Plot to Egg His House Goes Wrong

According to the Spalding County District Attorney’s Office, Maughon was in a relationship with Gilbert, who was visiting the home of another woman with whom Maughon wanted to fight, WSB-TV reports.

Maughon was angry when she realized Gilbert was there. When he came out of his house to confront them, they began throwing eggs at him, the DA said, WSB-TV reports.

The suspects raced back to their car and as Gilbert, who was unarmed, approached them, Maughon, who was sitting in the backseat of the car, “produced a firearm and shot him multiple times,” Dix said.

“The suspects then drove away, leaving Gilbert in the middle of Dobbins Mill Road,” he said.

Their investigation led them to Maughon, Munson and Davenport.

Maughon was charged with murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, battery-family violence and criminal trespass.

Munson was charged with murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, battery and criminal trespass.

Davenport was charged with malice murder, battery and criminal trespass.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“Because they all plotted and planned together, and traveled to the location with the intent to commit a crime that led up to the murder together, they are all culpable just as if they had each pulled the trigger themselves,” Dix said in the release.

“They went to egg a house, the victim confronted them while they were doing it, he lost his life, and they drove off and left his body in the middle of the road,” he said. “Together they bought that ticket; now together they can ride that ride.”

Davenport pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and simple battery and was sentenced to 24 months behind bars, according to online records.

Munson is scheduled for trial in March 2025. According to Law & Crime, the Spalding County District Attorney’s Office offered him a plea deal. He is waiting for his attorney to return from a “leave of absence” to accept or deny it, Senior Assistant District Attorney Audrey Holliday told Law & Crime.

The Spalding County District Attorney’s Office and the suspects’ attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.