Georgia Supreme Court reverses convictions in deadly March 2016 shooting at Peachtree Mall
The convictions of two of three suspects in the deadly shooting of Anthony Meredith inside the Peachtree Mall on March 26th, 2016 have been reversed, according to documents by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Xzavaien Jones, Tekoa Young, and Terrell McFarland were tried jointly from April 17th to May 3rd in 2017 and were convicted of murder and related offenses in connection with the shooting death of Anthony Meredith
Jones, McFarland, and Young were found guilty of all counts. Jones was sentenced to life imprisonment for malice murder, five consecutive years in prison for the firearm charge, and fifteen concurrent years in prison for the gang-act violation; the trial court merged the remaining counts into Jones’s malice murder conviction. McFarland was sentenced to life imprisonment for malice murder and five consecutive years in prison for the gang-act violation
Both men, Jones and McFarland, appealed and raise numerous trial court errors, including the removal of a dissenting juror during deliberations.
“Although the record may well have supported findings authorizing the trial court to remove the juror, the findings that the trial court actually made and to which our review is limited were not sufficient to justify removal,” the documents stated. “Because the trial court abused its discretion in removing the juror, we reverse.”
The shooting occurred on the Saturday of Easter weekend in 2016.
On the evening of March 26, 2016, Devon Wynn was at Peachtree Mall in Columbus.
Wynn, who knew both Meredith and Jones, saw Meredith near the food court entrance to the mall. Meredith was talking to Jones, another man, and a woman. Wynn was walking toward the group to greet Meredith when he saw Jones shoot Meredith. A nearby witness heard a man, whom he later identified as Jones, yell “f**k n***er, f**k n***er” at Meredith, followed by multiple gunshots. The witness then heard Jones say, “Come on, let’s go,” and saw Jones and another man sprint to a parked car and drive off.
Officers obtained a surveillance video recording from the mall’s parking lot from the evening of March 26. Douglas identified Young and Jones in the surveillance video at trial. The video showed that Young drove into the parking lot, got out of her car and paced while talking on a cellphone. Shortly thereafter, Jones and another man arrived at the mall together and parked a few spots away. The group talked briefly and then approached Meredith. Jones shot Meredith multiple times. The group then ran back to their respective vehicles and drove away.
After the shooting, Young spoke to police officers. She arrived at the police station driving a car that matched the car that she was seen driving in the surveillance video of the murder. Young denied any involvement in the shooting, telling officers that, on the afternoon of March 26, she left work and drove straight to a strip mall to do some shopping. Surveillance video from the strip mall recorded after the shooting showed Young wearing the same clothes that she had on in the surveillance video from Peachtree Mall. Police officers also interviewed McFarland.
He denied being at the mall on the day of the shooting. He did admit knowing Meredith, being a member of the Crips gang, and knowing about the escalating dispute between Meredith and Twitty.
Cellphone data introduced at trial showed that the cellphones associated with Jones, McFarland, and Young were all in the area of Peachtree Mall at the time of the shooting. Young’s phone placed three calls right after the shooting, two to McFarland and one to Jones. Young also sent McFarland a text message (which Young subsequently deleted) asking “y’all good?” Investigators found that Young had deleted other post-shooting texts from her phone. In one deleted text, Young admitted being at the mall, and in another, Jones sent Young the address of 6351 Birling Drive. After the shooting, McFarland’s and Jones’s phones traveled east and stopped in the area of 6351 Birling Drive. Meanwhile, Young’s phone traveled approximately three miles away to a strip mall.
Meredith’s autopsy revealed that he suffered ten gunshot wounds. The majority of the wounds were back to front, indicating that he was shot in the back several times. The medical examiner concluded that the manner of death was homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
The State also called an expert in criminal gang activity who testified that, based on statements the defendants made to law enforcement officers, their tattoos, their association before and after the crime, and their social media posts, Jones and McFarland were associated with the Crips gang. He further opined that the shooting was consistent with a retaliatory act required by the rules of the gang that would also increase Jones’s and McFarland’s status within the gang’s structure.
To read the full 54-page document, click here.
Related stories
CrimeOPD: Police investigating shooting in Opelika; road closed
Crime & SafetyBREAKING: Man charged with armed robbery, kidnapping after incident involving 13-year-old at Peachtree Mall
Crime & SafetyArrest made in deadly Phenix City shooting over the weekend
Crime & SafetyBREAKING: South Georgia mass shooting leaves five dead
Crime & SafetyBREAKING: Two dead, 35 injured in central Georgia block party mass shooting