Families of three men murdered in three separate shootings poured their hearts out in court, telling a judge losing their loved ones has left them with a lifetime of pain. The testimony of the children of one of the murder victims had people in the courtroom in tears.
One of the defendants apologized for her role in the two murders she pleaded guilty to.
Tyla Sprattling, Javion Clemmons, Willie Beasley, Montravis Luke, Cameron Ross and Lakavin Foster were all in a Fulton County courtroom to plead guilty for their roles in a murder and robbery spree.
The sister of one of the victims told Judge Scott McAfee Clemmons’s life plus a five-year sentence will get him off the streets for a long time.
“He was bold enough to be freely and do all these robberies and killings. So now God put him in a place where he needs to be,” Breonna Cody said.
Clemmons was sentenced to life plus five years for robbing and killing Cody, Christopher Holt and Martino Allen in three separate shootings last year.
Allen’s sister says the killers knocked on his door at his apartment in Union City pretending to be with Uber Eats.
“He deserved protection and not an ambush,” she said.
Clemmons, Beasley, Foster, Luke, Ross and Sprattling all pleaded guilty in Allen’s murder.
Prosecutors say Clemmons and Sprattling set up Christopher Holt when Sprattling asked him to bring her something to eat since she had surgery. When he arrived and tried to leave, Clemmons and Sprattling robbed and killed him.
Several of Holt’s children told the court how much they miss their dad and the impact he had on their lives. His 8-year-old son said when he plays baseball and the sun shines on him, he believes it’s his dad looking down on him from heaven. You could see people in the courtroom wiping away the tears.
Then the courtroom heard Holt’s voice when his daughter played a recording from a teddy bear.
“Skylar. Daddy loves you,” the recording said. Skylar said the teddy bear is all she has now. “Because of these individuals over there.”
Prosecutors say Clemmons set up Cody and killed him during a robbery.
“Nothing could have prepared us for the pain of losing him in such a senseless and violent way,” his sister said.
Sprattling helped set up two of the murders. She apologized for the pain she’s caused. She offered an explanation for why she did what she did.
“(I was) manipulated into thinking that it was okay when it wasn’t.”
Allen’s mother wasn’t in a forgiving mood. “You are evil. I have no sympathy for you,” Tiffany Fuller said.
Beasley, Clemmons and Sprattling received life plus five years.
The other three defendants received sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years.
Several of the defendants tried to withdraw their guilty pleas.
But Judge McAfee denied the motion since they had all agreed to plead guilty right before trial was set to start. They all still are able to pursue further legal action to rescind their guilty pleas.
