MADISON COUNTY — A Madison County man who shot his wife multiple times and drove her car into a lake before fleeing was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
District Attorney John K. “Bubba” Bramlett said Billy Bland, 46, entered his plea in Madison County Circuit Court before Judge Dewey Arthur, who imposed the maximum sentence on both charges.
According to prosecutors, Canton police were called on Nov. 15, 2024, after Bland told his mother-in-law that he had killed her daughter. When officers arrived at the couple’s home, no one was there.
Around the same time, Madison County deputies responded to a call from a homeowner on Lake Naeoma who reported that an SUV had gone into the water and a woman was crying for help. Deputies found Bland’s wife inside the vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. She told them Bland had shot her and then fled.
Investigators tracked Bland’s phone and discovered that his brother had driven him to an abandoned house on West Capitol Street in Jackson. With help from the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities found Bland there with the handgun used in the shooting.
Bland, who has previous convictions for felony DUI and cocaine sales, pleaded guilty the day before his trial was scheduled to begin.
Bramlett credited the homeowner’s quick action with saving the victim’s life and praised the cooperation between the Canton Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Marshals Task Force in capturing Bland.
“This is yet another example of domestic violence almost taking a life in this state,” Bramlett said, encouraging victims to seek help by contacting the Center for Violence Prevention Crisis Line at 601-932-4198.
