Two former Milton High School basketball players pleaded guilty Thursday to reduced charges in the 2021 shooting death of a Kennesaw State college student in the parking lot of an Alpharetta apartment complex during an alleged drug exchange.
Cameron Walker and Jonathan Murray were originally charged with murder in the fatal October 2021 shooting of Kennesaw State student Connor Mediate, but after months of delays, the men pleaded guilty to a handful of lesser violent offenses, including voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Murray’s attorney, Doug Weinstein, said his client was sentenced to 40 years to serve 20 in prison with 15 years on probation, while Walker was sentenced to 40 years to serve 25 in prison and 15 years on probation. Both were granted first offender status.
“That leaves the ball in your court. Pun intended. It’s up to you if you want your life to go in a different direction,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura L. Ingram told Murray and Walker, according to the news station.
The two were members of Milton High School’s varsity team at the time of the shooting and were arrested in November 2021 shortly before a game, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Because of his arrest, Walker lost a basketball scholarship to George Mason University.
Investigators said the two planned to meet Mediate to buy drugs in an Alpharetta parking deck outside the Collingwood Apartments. Witnesses reported hearing up to six shots, and Mediate was found lying in a pool of blood with three gunshot wounds to the neck, police said at the time. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
In 2023, prosecutors extended a plea offer of life in prison, but that was rejected.
In a February interview with the AJC, Joe Mediate, Connor’s father, said his family had been waiting for justice since the night their son was killed during the alleged drug exchange gone wrong.
“I feel that there’s no sense of urgency here, and I feel like they’re catering to the criminals more so than catering to the victims,” Mediate said about his son’s case.
The case was delayed because one of Murray’s attorneys, Bruce Harvey, was tied up with the lengthy YSL trial. Harvey filed multiple conflict letters asking for delays.
During the interview, Joe Mediate said they were worried about possible retaliation and decided to leave the state while awaiting trial.
He described his son as a “good student” who was “everyone’s friend.”
“He was a good person, giving person and loving person. He loved sports, he really loved cars and was an entrepreneur. He was trying to start a little car business where he would detail cars and add car stereos and tinting windows,” Joe Mediate said about Connor in February. “People loved Connor.”
According to Channel 2, the Mediate family asked Judge Ingram to impose the maximum sentence possible.
“Yes, he had his struggles. But honestly, he did not deserve this, and neither did my family,” Connor’s mother said during the hearing, according to the news station.
Murray and Walker apologized to the Mediate family during the plea hearing, according to Channel 2.
“I never intended on anyone’s life to be taken. If I could go back to that day and change anything that occurred, I really would,” Walker said.
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