LAGRANGE, Ga. — Last Friday, a 29-year-old LaGrange man was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for planning a 2018 armed robbery plot that went wrong, resulting in the death of one of his co-conspirators.
According to a release from Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford, a Troup County jury found Malcolm Jamal Holloway guilty of felony murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, aggravated assault, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Cranford's release said that the evidence presented at trial indicated that on June 27, 2018, Holloway recruited five other men -- Antony Rashad O'Neal, Anthony Morris Jr., Sellus Culvin, Christopher Jamar Jacobs and Javontay Carr -- from Mississippi to come to LaGrange to participate in an armed robbery of certain local business owners. The group plotted to ambush the victims as they drove home from work.
LaGrange Police responded to a 911 call received at 11:51 p.m. from the would-be robbery victims, which said they had been shot at multiple times while driving home on Steeplechase Drive.
According to the trial evidence, as the victims drove on Steeplechase, they saw a dark sedan with its headlights off and hazard lights flashing. They saw a male figure kneeling near the front of the car, appearing to be experiencing car trouble.
The release said that the victims noticed other armed men in the woodline, at which point, they sped past the ruse and two perpetrators opened fire. The victims' vehicle was struck seven times by gunfire, but the victims did not receive any gunshot wounds. However, as Javontay Carr shot at the victims, he ran directly into the gunfire of one of his co-conspirators and was killed.
According to Cranford's release, the evidence presented at the trial proved that Holloway the mastermind of the armed robbery plot.
Cranford said that Holloway was not on hand during the murder, but he showed the perpetrators where the victims lived, he watched as they closed their businesses, he followed the victims home and he communicated with his co-conspirators as they lay in wait at the ambush location.
In addition, because Carr's death was a direct result of the conspiracy to commit armed robbery and the attempted armed robbery which Holloway planned, Holloway was criminally responsible for Carr's homicide.
The remaining co-conspirators each pleaded guilty prior to trial. Due to negotiated plea agreements as well as their respective degrees of cooperation and culpability, they were sentenced as follows:
- Antony O'Neal - 40 years to serve, 20 years in prison
- Anthony Morris - 40 years to serve, 20 years in prison
- Christopher Jacobs - 40 years to serve, 21 years in prison
- Sellus Culvin - 40 years to serve, 12 years in prison
Following the trial, Coweta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Dustin Hightower sentenced Holloway to life with the possibility of parole plus 20 years in prison.
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