By Sudhin Thanawala, AP
A teen suspect has been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in the shooting that killed an 8-year-old Atlanta girl near the site of an earlier police shooting, officials said Wednesday.
Police issued warrants a day earlier for 19-year-old Julian Conley in the slaying of Secoriea Turner, police spokesman Anthony Grant said.
Conley’s attorney, Jackie Patterson, said Conley was peacefully protesting and witnessed the shooting but did not open fire himself, though he was armed.
“It is no doubt this comes as a shock,” he said. “Why would you want to charge a man who saw a crime but did not participate in a criminal act? Police would have a better chance at winning the lottery than getting a conviction on my client.”
News of the charges broke as mourners attended Secoriea’s funeral Wednesday at New Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. A long line of relatives and friends filed past her body as the gospel song “I’ll Fly Away” filled the church.
“If there’s ever a time that we need the Lord, we need him now,” The Rev. Gregory Sutton told mourners.
Secoriea was fatally shot on the Fourth of July while riding in an SUV with her mother and another adult near the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was killed by a white police officer on June 12.
Makeshift barricades had been set up in the area after Brooks was killed, and armed men had been blocking roads in the area and turning some drivers away. The SUV Secoriea was in was trying to make a U-turn at one of the barricades when at least one gunman shot into the vehicle, police said.
Conley said the SUV tried to come through a road block and hit a barricade and a man armed with a rifle, according to Patterson. The man got up and opened fire at the vehicle, Patterson said his client told him. Conley said everyone thought somebody in the SUV was shooting and other armed people opened fire at the vehicle, Patterson said.
“He was in disbelief that people were shooting at the vehicle,” the attorney said.
Secoriea’s parents have pleaded for the public to help find whoever was responsible for the killing. A total of $50,000 in reward money was offered for the apprehension and conviction of those responsible.
At her funeral, Secoriea was described as bringing joy to everyone around her. When she began first grade, she walked into class with a unicorn backpack and “she was cute and bright with a smile to adore,” her teacher recalled.
“She sprinkled her magic all over the class, bringing laughter and joy to all of our faces,” she said. “Really, she made my heart smile and her life can teach us all a valuable lesson. So the lesson from Secoriea today is to be a unicorn — find your magic, use your power, speak your truth, spread your wings and share your shine.”
If it was him, fry his ass. If it wasn’t, I hope he gets out quickly and the guilty party is snatched up and meets a swift termination.
While I’m wishing for magical shit, anyone else want anything?
A few million would be nice.
Copy that, 5 by 5.
Ballistics will determine, one way or the other.
Affirmative 9. And I’ve got you Ed! If I ever become magical, I’ll always remember you asked first, lol.
If you have real magic powers, I want about 40 years taken off my age . . . I liked the young asshole that I used to be, better than the old asshole I’ve become. ;^) Not to mention, I was a lot smarter back then!
Fountain of youth, you got it hoss!
Nothing better than standing in the Fountain of Youth with a naked woman.
CPC,
Don’t stand in that fountain too long, or she’ll be jailbait.
But I like your style!
I just want In ‘n Out in New Mexico. And half of the Democrats in the state to move somewhere else. That would be nice too.
Double Whopper, extra pickle and ketchup? Shrimp gumbo? Shrimp Creole? Eggs, sausage & grits, with butter and hot sauce?
Royale with cheese. Brown drink.
Details are too thin to make much of this. However….
There will be more rage to justify more damage.
Of that, there’s little doubt.
It’s a black on black crime, there will be no rage! Black lives only matter when it is a white cop shooting a black criminal!
I wonder if that little girl’s death was added to the coronavirus list!
The leftist media was sure to repeatedly claim the alleged shooter was just a “teenager”. Sure he was nineteen but that is not exactly thirteen.
If he still has the gun, ballistics would either clear him or convict him.
How can it be proven that the gun was the one he had at that time or not?
It they find it in his possession and it matches the murder weapon’s ballistics it may not be proof in and of itself but when combined with the fact that he was there, armed, and presumably not picked randomly in the investigation, will likely suffice for proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
If he’s stupid enough to be there, see what happened, and then hold onto the murder weapon for someone else, too bad. Stupid has consequences.
I would never trust ballistics to CLEAR me of a shooting. I remember a test that was done, local labs seldom were able to match a MAKE AND MODEL of gun to a fired slug with any accuracy, let alone a specific gun. The FBI lab fared somewhat better, but I wouldn’t want to bet a 20 year prison term that they’d clear me.
I remember a story about ballistics evidence presented in court, with micrographs of the striations proving a match. The defense expert testified, and noted that the number of lands and groves didn’t match. Scary?
Shows like CSI have us conditioned to believe that the forensic experts are infallible. Not I!
You should research courtroom pseudoscience. Lie detectors, bite marks, fire forensics – you name it. It’s mostly all made up nonsense. DNA is promising, but I’m waiting to see how it might be manipulated. If nothing else, the cops take a swab from you when they arrest you, then throw the swab into the “evidence” collection from the crime site. Never submit to any of that forensic nonsense, fight them tooth and nail every step of the way.
You’re certainly right about ‘lie detector’ tests.
Never agree to one thinking that it’ll prove your innocence.
If he was a member of the armed group who any number of were illegally discharging their firearms, intentionally into the vehicle, which by present accounts neither harmed nor threatened the group, he’s guilty of felony murder (or whatever Georgia’s version of such principle is).
If this the murderer, then this piece of shit deserves to hang.
Odds are this scumbag should hang even if this specific crime isn’t one of his.
Just not with a noose, that would be Racist.
How about a looped length of steel cable?
Piano wire.
He deserves to be buried alive
Public drawing and quartering would be MUCH better.
PUBLICLY!!!!
This is a terrible tragedy for the peaceful protestor who shot her. He meant to shoot a white guy but accidentally shot someone the media and prosecutors would care about.
Damn son, but ain’t that the truth
Coming to a suburb or small town near you, if the Dems get elected.
Amazing how the Atlanta mayor actually let the city police do their job???
They should’ve been allowed to do their jobs when thugs were blocking the road at gunpoint!!
Though if they were doing their job, why was there a barricade surrounded by armed people. That should never have been allowed.
Because the mayor is their BOSS.
Had it been an adult she probably wouldn’t have, but since it was an 8 year old the community would have had her out on the street in days if she just let it go.
People who murder innocent children one way or another, get the ultimate punishment.
Yep, public hanging by theneck until dead needs to be re-instated for this scumbag.
A tree, horse and rope would suffice.
Horse and a rope will do.
The perp will probably get life not the death penalty he deserves. For now getting him off the streets and behind bars is paramount.
Felony Murder makes far more sense for this guy than the cop that shot Rayshard Brooks. Either this guy did it or knows who did.
Ballistics won’t mean crap. “His” gun had to be a stolen one and If he is only half a moron he got rid of It. This is window dressing.
“He was in disbelief that people were shooting at the vehicle,”
Yeah well, they’re called “Burn, Murder, Destroy” for a reason, genius.
Wouldn’t that be “Burn, Loot, Murder”? Activities approved by the state as long as they are doing it.
If he’s a baby killer, than there is no penalty that is adequate to punish him for what he did. If was not complicit, then he needs to be exonerated pronto. Then the lunatics running the asylum can defund the police and have a real slaughter of the innocents.
Ba Ba Ba But the shooter is Bl Bla Blac black……!
It is a disgusting outrage that the city allowed it to happen. Allowed armed groups to take over a section of the city, no matter how small, is an abandonment of the oath of office by every elected “leader” responsible for this.
The moment the barricades went up and the armed groups appeared the SWAT teams should have been called in. If needed, aid requests to surrounding law enforcement agencies should have gone out. There should have been a massive display of official power.
Absolutely shameful.
Correct. Mayors are allowing these dangerous situations to develop, only to act shocked when someone gets injured or killed, not to mention all of the businesses and personal property that have been destroyed. This particular mayor was supposedly on the short list for Biden’s VP pick, which means this could be your future president.
Not that I ever pay any attention to the VP on the ticket, I mean how often has that truly mattered, but there is currently no candidate worthy of voting for from any party.
Just a very ugly election year, similar to the last Presidential Silly Season of 2016.
Usually the VP pick doesn’t matter that much. Biden is a different story for obvious reasons. People will pay close attention to the person he picks.
Biden’s VP pick BHO. Then resign under 25th Amendment.
It’s almost like the rich and powerful don’t want anyone competent in office. I wonder why that could be… hmmm. Real head scratcher.
And setting very dangerous precedents.
So this guy is carrying what appears to be an AR pistol with a brass catcher at a makeshift checkpoint in the midst of a rather rowdy place of protest (Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t that Wendy’s burn down around the same time?) but had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting? It’s also pure coincidence that he shows up at the courthouse with a lawyer a week and a half after the incident, having shaved years worth of growth off his dome, and ONLY after his mug is blasted all over the local news and social media?
I’m very interested to hear more details come out, but Occam’s Razor has an awful lot to say just based on the scant bit of information already presented.
Of course ultimate and most severe responsibility falls on the person or persons who fired the killing shots. But every single person who was enforcing that barricade should be rounded up, charged with crimes of insurrection, treason, terrorism and accessory to murder.
Everyone who was there knows who did what…but nobody’s talking. A real community-minded bunch.
Probably this guy is being charged because he’s all the authorities have got, and they need to get *somebody* to start singing.
It also appears the clown is using a jump rope for a sling. Guess you go with what you got. Pity there aren’t more NDs like this guy. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/06/portland-man-who-accidentally-shot-himself-in-groin-claimed-a-homeless-man-robbed-fired-gun-at-him.html
You reap what you sow.
Wood chipper.
Or sit him on a fast growing shoot of bamboo.
Didn’t Mythbusters test the latter?
RIP Grant. You were a great influence on teaching my son about science, maths, and logic.
That was a great show and the “Build Team” was top notch. Kari Byron most especially!!! 🙂
Grant Imahara … yeah, 49 years is way to short a time. A brain aneurysm got him, awful thing.
My son said he learned more from Mythbusters than from school. We would play a game every episode. We would guess the outcome at the start of the episode. He was right about 75% of the time. He would reference other shows and Mythbusters episodes to support his prediction. He was 6-7 at the time.
Teen… MY AZZ
This guy is either the shooter , one of multiple shooters or he saw who the shooter was.
If he don’t want to go to prison he better start singing.
He’ll really start singing on his first night with the ODCs.
All these young victims are sparkling cute angels dancing around in unicorn rainbows.
Sad truth is they’re all shaniqua niglets in training, and their future is dog shit. That’s the culture that surrounds them.
Bingo!!!!
+1
Obvious Racists are obvious. I’m glad I am not part of your “gun community”. Maybe if you made some friends and took minorities to the range you’d be helping our cause, instead of hurting it.
Black Lives Matter is demanding that we defund and disband the police. A great place to start would be too not solve this homicide nor arrest and prosecute an alleged perpetrator.
hope he gets what he deserves
Well they all “deserve” their foodstamps so im sure he’ll get more…. along with reparations and a taxpayer funded place to sleep….
He’s black so he should get away with it based on minority immunity. It’s institutional racisms fault.
And as s gang member, it is also his cultural heritage.
I wonder what would have happened if one of the “armed protestors” during that bundy nonsense had murdered a young child who was unlucky enough to be driving by.
Would they still be called ‘armed protestors’?
He is going to live with the spectre of a tarnish name for the rest of his life.
If the mayor had a backbone and back up the police force and quell the notion for riotous to break out in the city. A lot of heartache would not occur. But, they got what the BLM wants. ANARCHY.
Looks like a Trump supporter.
Who looks like a Trump supporter? I am appalled at the fact that you attempt to twist this tragic murder into some bs election/political action. I hate what both parties have become as a Constitutionalist, but that has NOTHING to do with a criminal murdering someone. There should not be any political crap involved in this discussion. The only relevant point is if this person is the guilty party or if he knows who is. Capital punishment should be the only sentencing option once the guilty party is identified and charged (and of course found guilty by a jury of peers).
God save this country from its advancing destruction.
“The only relevant point is if this person is the guilty party or if he knows who is.”
That is so yesteryear.
Everything, and I do mean everything, is political now. When hard work, nuclear family, objectivity, rational thinking are considered “white-only culture”, there is nothing left that is not tarnished by/with politics.
Just another piece of shit animal!
“CPC says:
July 15, 2020 at 18:12
Nothing better than standing in the Fountain of Youth with a naked woman.”
How about standing in a fountain of naked women?
Accused is a 19 year old who witnessed, but did not participate in the murder? The fact that he’s underaged to lawfully own a pistol isn’t relevant? Why was he brandishing a weapon in the video?
Technically, every person present at this “peaceful protest (heavy sarcasm),” should be charged as an Accessory to Murder. Round ’em all up, under that charge alone, and I guarantee someone will turn the shooter(s) in.
Quote: “Why would you want to charge a man who saw a crime but did not participate in a criminal act?” On the contrary the punk was participating in the criminal act. The group had illegally taken over private property and then illegally placed barricades on the street. So when the group of criminals engaged in a criminal act murdered the little girl, that punk participated. Everyone involved in that criminal conspiracy needs to be arrested and charged with felony murder.