A Georgia mother made an outburst to a jury after her son’s conviction in a murder trial that came with a unanimous decision to sentence him to life in prison.
Both Demetrice Ross and Brandon Williams were found guilty of 15 combined charges in relation to the murder of 60-year-old Thomas Arnold on Atlanta’s BeltLine.
Ross’ mother, Valerie, explained to the Fulton County jury that her son was not a killer after he was convicted on Wednesday.
“I believe with my whole heart, my whole heart, with my whole heart, with my whole heart, with my whole heart,” a hysterical Valerie Ross said. “My son, Demetrice Ross, is innocent.”
The Georgia mother indicated that she would appeal her son’s conviction, revealing the jury’s seven-hour deliberation was short-lived, and the panel failed to discuss the case with enough time on their hands, as per WSBTV.
On the evening of February 26, 2022, Demetrice Ross and Williams were found guilty of shooting Arnold during a violent attempted robbery as he walked home after spending the night with his friends.
It was believed that Arnold was heading back home in the nearby Poncey-Highland neighborhood, after spending time at a bar before it closed at 10 p.m.
Surveillance footage captured Ross and Williams following a woman, as they made unwanted advances on the popular path that circles the city, around the same time as Arnold.
According to reports, Williams is believed to be the one who fired the fatal shot, and one friend testified during the trial that he clearly stated that he killed Arnold when he tried to steal a car.
“Can’t leave no witnesses because, no face, no case,” the unidentified witness testified.
The “outstanding individual” reportedly spent the evening with friends and was riding his bike on the BeltLine when he was murdered, per 11Alive.
His body was discovered the next morning with numerous fatal gunshot wounds. Soon after, an investigation was launched into the senseless targeted attack and no suspects were apprehended until after cops released nearby security footage.
Two weeks later, Williams was arrested after Arnold was discovered. Then about a week after, Ross was captured by US Marshals, and the trial began on April 24, lasting four days before a jury deliberated for multiple hours on Wednesday.
Judge Craig Schwall sentenced Williams and the now-convicted son of the Georgia mother to life in prison, denying them the possibility of parole as well.
“I have a very difficult job. I’ve been a Superior Court judge for 20 years and I have probably tried 200 felony jury trials, most of them murder cases,” Schwall said, according to courtroom video.
“People say ‘How do you do it? How do you deal with all that sadness?’ It’s never a happy day in this room,” he said before elaborating on the difficulty with the current murder trial. “This case has really affected me. Two words come to mind, ‘cruel’ and ‘evil.’ That’s what we have in this case. There’s no reason we should be here.”
The jurist, speaking directly to Ross and Williams, said their “repugnant and depraved conduct” got them the heartbreaking fate of dying in prison.
For the Georgia mother Valerie, seeing her son Ross fall under these circumstances is far from the right call, and she will be aiming to turn his fortunes around despite the strong sentence.