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Booking photo courtesy of the Pike County Sheriff's Office
ZEBULON - On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Judge Ben Miller Jr. gave a final ruling in a blind plea on the case of State of Georgia vs. Robert Michael Ledford in Superior Court of Pike County.
This is the conclusion of a case that began on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 shortly after 3 p.m. when Pike County Sheriff’s Office dispatched deputies to a fight call in front of Pike County Elementary School.
On that day, one person was injured, and the attacker was arrested and taken to the Pike County Jail. History
According to witnesses, 36 year old Robert Ledford from Molena, got out of his vehicle and punched the victim, Charlton Boyt from Zebulon, through his open window and attempted to pull him out of the vehicle in front of Boyt’s then 8 year old daughter who was a passenger in the vehicle with him.
The victim sought medical treatment at the hospital after the incident. According to medical documentation provided to Pike County Times after the incident, Boyt was diagnosed with injury of head, strain of neck muscle, facial pain, strain of right shoulder, neck pain, and concussion without loss of consciousness from the assault.
Ledford was arrested and charged with Battery and Cruelty to Children in the 3rd Degree. Both charges follow state statutes and are misdemeanors.
Ledford was released on a $3,000 bond that included no contact with the victim or witnesses, no possession of firearms or ammo "in any location or capacity" during the pendency of this case, and no violations of the law.
The case was indicted on March 20, 2025.
Sentencing
The case was heard in a blind plea before Judge Ben Miller, Jr. on Tuesday, April 14 in Pike County Superior Court. Ledford pled guilty in court, and Judge Miller sentenced him in the courtroom that day without Ledford knowing what his final sentence would be.
During the sentencing, the victims were allowed to give victim statements and the defendant and his attorney were allowed to speak before the judge. The maximum that could be sentenced on these two misdemeanor offenses was up to 12 months in jail and $1,000 on each count.
Part of the consideration in this case was that the defendant had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving multiple tours in Iraq but was compliant with medication prescribed by a doctor.
The case centered around the incident in which Ledford walked up to Boyt’s vehicle and repeatedly punched Boyt with his fist causing intentional physical harm to Boyt in front of his daughter, who was a 2nd grader at the time of the incident.
Witness Impact Statements
Boyt’s impact statement included his account of the attack. He was repeatedly punched while seat belted in his vehicle while he was turned to protect his daughter from being struck as she was screaming and trying to protect him. He said that the incident could have been much worse if he hadn’t kept his foot on the brake.
Boyt told the Judge that he received a major concussion, black eye, cracked tooth, and broke two bones in his neck during the incident. He stated that this was done in a blind rage and that there was no stopping Ledford as he struck him, moved away, and then came back three times as he called them rednecks and white trash.
Boyt said that he has never had seizures before the attack but that he had a seizure with a black out after the attack in front of his 10 year old and 2nd grader that prompted his second grader to call 911. He said that he has had other seizures since the attack and that he was going to have to live with permanent damage to his neck.
Boyt said that he had not been able to function without worry and dread since the attack, and that he was especially worried about running into Ledford again in the car line at the school. He said that the incident deeply affected his daughter who cried every time they saw Ledford’s red truck in the car line because she was fearful that he was looking for them. He told the judge that his daughter was so fearful of Ledford looking for them in carline that they had to sell the vehicle that they were in during the attack and buy a different vehicle.
He said that he and his daughter have not been able to put this attack behind them and that it will affect his daughter for the rest of her life and him too. He pled for justice and for the judge to see the seriousness of the case.
The now third grader then stood before Judge Miller with her mother, Trisha Ann Boyt, standing beside her. Miller asked the young girl if she knew the difference between the truth and a lie, and she indicated that she did. Her chess coach from school and neighbors were there to support her as she talked to the judge.
Her Mom told the judge that her daughter’s chess scores went down after she received the subpoena to speak before the court. The child was visibly stressed at speaking in court and was scratching her arms so badly as she stood before the judge that the Victim Advocate brought the Beanie Baby dog that the 3rd grader had been given prior to the beginning of court and placed it in her hands.
Boyt spoke and her daughter responded for the judge after she said that her daughter cried and cried the night before coming to court. Boyt asked her daughter if she felt like Ledford was trying to kill her, and her daughter said yes.
She asked her daughter if she was trying to help fight the man off of her Dad. She also asked her daughter if she thought he should receive jail time and never have gun rights. Each time her daughter responded yes. Trisha Ann said that her daughter now has PTSD, and that her daughter will have to deal with that for the rest of her life.
She asked if Judge Miller had seen the video, and he replied that he had. Trisha Ann said that Ledford attacked her husband without regard to their child. She said that she would never do that Ledford’s child. She said that he gave her child no empathy; she begged him to stop, and he didn’t listen.
Boyt then read a quote from a book that talked about the enormity of injustice in this case being almost beyond belief, that such an event could happen in this country in this day and age is a reminder to everyone that injustice of enormous magnitude is still among us, and that no evasions, rationalizations, or highly skilled legal arguments could obscure that simple fact.
She then thanked the judge for his service and stepped away with her daughter to go back to their seats in court.
Defendant Statements
Brent Hutchinson from Virgil Brown and Associates spoke on behalf of Ledford. He said that Ledford was a 37 year old single father who made a decision that he deeply regrets. Ledford served three tours in Iraq, was exposed to a rocket propelled grenade, suffers from PTSD, and is 70-80% disabled.
Hutchinson also said that Ledford served in law enforcement for eight years and has acknowledged that he should have given some grace for the slight that he felt that day. Hutchinson said that Ledford spent 26 hours in jail and that the stress from this incident was so bad that he ended up divorced.
He asked for first offender status for his client and asked the court to entertain probating the sentence with 12 months of probation based on uniformity of similar cases in the circuit and asked the court to include conditions for staying away from the family to help them feel safe.
Ledford spoke before the judge as well. He apologized to the Boyt family. He said that he let his emotions control him that day but that it hasn’t happened before or since and hoped that someday the family could forgive him.
He said that he had served his country and community and assured Judge Miller that he would never see Ledford again. He said that he would always control his emotions from here on out.
Conclusion
Judge Miller said that he had seen the video and that those actions affected the lives of the victims. He also said that he has been a judge in four counties and presided over thousands of cases.
Judge Miller explained that there was a statutory framework that he was obligated to follow in this case and apologized for that but said that the plea was consistent with similar cases. Ledford was sentenced as follows after the Judge advised that he deeply considered the testimony given.
On the charge of Battery, he pled guilty and was sentenced to 12 months of probation with the first 3 days in jail, a $500 fine, must attend and complete a class on anger management, complete 40 hours of community service, and have no contact with the victims.
Judge Miller stated that if Ledford walked into a place of business where the victims were at, he was to remove himself. He also said that Ledford was to have no communication with the victims whatsoever. On the charge of Cruelty to Children in the 3rd Degree, he pled guilty and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $500 fine, must complete an anger management class, and must complete 40 hours of community service.
The 12 months of probation on each charge were to be served one after the other. Ledford was sentenced to serve the first 3 days of that 24 months of probation in the Pike County Jail starting on Friday, April 17 at 6 p.m. and ending on Sunday, April 19 at 6 p.m. with the rest of his sentence being served on probation as long as he complied with the conditions of probation imposed by the court. He will have 120 days to complete his community service.
Judge Miller explained to Ledford that his plea included conditions that he has agreed to a search without a warrant and that he was to have no contact with the victims. This was to include social media, and he advised specifically that Ledford was not allowed to talk about the case on social media.
Miller also advised that Ledford would be in violation of his probation if he arrived at the Pike County Jail at 6:05 p.m.
Thank you to First Bank of Pike for sponsoring Pike County Times’ Breaking News Alerts! First Bank of Pike has been serving customers in Pike County and the surrounding area since 1901 and offers Personal and Business banking with a personal touch. Services include checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and IRA’s. Mobile Banking and Bill Payment services are also available! Click here for more. Please let First Bank of Pike know that you appreciate their sponsorship of Breaking News Alerts on Pike County's only FREE online newspaper!
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Case Has Been Indicted - March 21, 2025 Update
ZEBULON - On September 18, 2024 shortly after 3 p.m., Pike County Sheriff’s Office Deputies were dispatched to a fight call in front of Pike County Elementary School. One person was injured, and the attacker was arrested and taken to the Pike County Jail.
[Note from the Editor: This was originally reported to have taken place on September 19, 2024. The date on the camera feed says September 18, 2024 so the date in the original article has been changed to match it. Pike County Times did not have the video until April of 2026.]
According to witnesses, 36 year old Robert Ledford from Molena, got out of his vehicle and punched the victim, Charlton Boyt from Zebulon, through his open window and attempted to pull him out of the vehicle.Ledford stated that he was upset that the vehicle had cut him off so he got out and confronted the victim.
An 8 year old child was a passenger in the victim’s vehicle and witnessed the assault.
The victim sought medical treatment at the hospital after the incident. According to medical documentation provided to Pike County Times, Boyt was diagnosed with injury of head, strain of neck muscle, facial pain, strain of right shoulder, neck pain, and concussion without loss of consciousness from the assault. [Note from the Editor: This last sentence was reworded to show where the information came from and to make it more clear.]
Ledford was arrested and charged with Battery and Cruelty to Children in the 3rd Degree. Both are misdemeanor charges and follow state statutes.
Ledford has since been released on a $3,000 bond that includes no contact with the alleged victim or witnesses, no possession of firearms or ammo "in any location or capacity" during the pendency of this case, and no violations of the law.
Ledford previously served at the Henry County Sheriff's Office as a Jail Officer and a Deputy Sheriff, Henry County Police Department as a Law Enforcement Officer, and at Hampton Police Department as a Law Enforcement Officer. He resigned (voluntarily) from law enforcement in 2018.
UPDATE 3.21.25: The Pike County Grand Jury met on March 20, 2025 with Honorable Ben J. Miller presiding. This case was true billed which means that the accused has been indicted and will have his case presented at a trial at a later date.
Thank you to First Bank of Pike for sponsoring Pike County Times’ Breaking News Alerts! First Bank of Pike has been serving customers in Pike County and the surrounding area since 1901 and offers Personal and Business banking with a personal touch. Services include checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and IRA’s. Mobile Banking and Bill Payment services are also available! Click here for more. Please let First Bank of Pike know that you appreciate their sponsorship of Breaking News Alerts on Pike County's only FREE online newspaper!
INFORMATION ABOUT RECEIVING BREAKING NEWS ALERTS CAN BE FOUND, HERE.
Thanks for reading and supporting Pike County Times.com!