Three co-defendants were convicted Wednesday on gang charges, among other counts, in connection with a fatal shooting at a Sweet 16 party in Douglas County in early 2023.
The three defendants who faced a jury trial were acquitted of murder after four other defendants in the same case previously entered guilty pleas, the Douglas District Attorney’s Office said.
One defendant, Michael Williams, pleaded guilty to felony murder and other charges, according to the DA’s office. He has already been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
In court Wednesday, a jury rendered guilty verdicts against Timothy Coleman, 20; Kingston Cottman, 18; and Tahkel Beverly-Smart, 23. Each was convicted of violating Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
According to the DA’s office, all three are members of the DBG hybrid street gang that is well-known in Cobb County.
Coleman and Cottman were also found guilty of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of an illegal weapon, the DA’s office said.
The defendants were charged in connection with a shooting at a party near Douglasville attended mostly by teenagers on March 4, 2023, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Officers found 14-year-old Ajanaye Hill dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. Samuel Moon, 15, was critically injured and also died at the scene.
Eight other teens suffered gunshot wounds ranging from grazes to critical injuries, the DA’s office said.
Investigators learned that some of the defendants showed up in a car together and confronted a teenager in the middle of the party, the DA’s office said. Several of the defendants were carrying guns modified to be automatic, and they called out their target for reposting a comment on social media about a fellow gang member’s suicide, according to investigators. The defendants then began shooting into the crowd.
Investigators showed evidence that a car linked to Coleman and Beverly-Smart had been detected by license plate readers near the scene of the shooting, and cellphone data placed all of the defendants in the area when the shooting happened.
Noah Bradley and twin brothers Chance and Chase McDowell were initially identified and linked to the crime, along with Cottman and Coleman, the AJC previously reported. Beverly-Smart was arrested a month later, while Williams remained at large for nearly a year before he was arrested in Albany, where he was going to school.
According to the DA’s office, Bradley pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by 15 on probation. Chase McDowell also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 10 years on probation, while his brother Chance pleaded guilty to obstruction and was sentenced to 12 months.
Coleman, Cottman and Beverly-Smart will be sentenced Nov. 14, the DA’s office said.
Douglas District Attorney Dalia Racine said that, while she may not agree with the jury’s decision to acquit the defendants of murder, “we must trust it is in the best interest of having a fair and just system.”
“We appreciate the service of the jury and the hard task they were asked to do,” Racine said in a statement. “We continue to grieve with the families who have lost children and the families who had children harmed by this incident.”
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