FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Sandy Springs attorney has been convicted on all counts in connection to the murder of Hamid Jahangard, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced Wednesday.
Bryan Schmitt had faced five counts including felony murder and aggravated assault. The charges stemmed from a 2019 road rage incident that claimed the life of 60-year-old Jahangard, a real estate investor.
The Fulton DA said Jahangard was killed following the confrontation in the driveway of a Sandy Springs home when Schmitt hit Jahangard with his car.
Schmitt was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said on the evening of July 30, 2019, Jahangard was in the driveway of the home bouncing a golf ball while talking on the phone.
"The ball bounced into the road as Schmitt’s Mercedes drove by. Schmitt made a U-turn and accused Jahangard of throwing the ball at his car- the confrontation led to Schmitt steering toward and striking Jahangard with the car," a release from the Fulton DA stated.
According to the Fulton D.A., the collision broke Jahangard’s left leg and fractured his skull. He died due to his injuries on Aug. 2 at North Fulton Hospital.
"During the trial, Schmitt claimed that he simply misjudged the turn and his car’s turning radius. The State argued that he was lying to the police about the victim’s actions to deflect responsibility and mislead investigators about his intentions," the release stated. "Both sides presented expert testimony from accident reconstruction experts. Both experts agreed that once the Defendant began making a turn towards the victim, a collision with the victim was inevitable."
"My heart goes out to Mr. Jahangard’s daughters, who had to deal with the callous murder of their father not even a year after losing their mother to cancer," Willis said. "The Defendant chose to turn a mild inconvenience into a situation that resulted in death, and now two families are broken and grieving because of his actions. I want to thank my prosecution team and the victim’s family for their courage and commitment to justice."