TWO MEN GUILTY IN '04 KILLING OF 16-YEAR-OLD QUATAVIUS BELL

Stray Bullet from Guns of Jarmmal Howard and Joe Ross Took the Life of High-Schooler Playing BKB

Sentences will be imposed tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. in the murder case of two men convicted today in the November 7, 2004 murder of 16-year-old Quatavius Bell. This afternoon, a Fulton County Superior Court jury found 24-year-old Jarmmal Howard and his stepfather, 31-year-old Joe Roger Ross guilty of killing the high school student in what was an accidental shooting. Ross was found guilty of one count of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, 5 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Howard was found guilty of felony murder, 5 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The defendants were sitting in a car waiting for several men Howard had gotten into a dispute with earlier that day. When those men drove into the parking lot of Rachel's Walk Apartments on Hightower Road, where Bell and other teens were playing basketball, the defendants opened fire. During the trial, Senior Assistant District Attorney Tanya Miller of the Major Case Unit told the jury the defendants were armed with an AK-47, an assault rifle and a semi-automatic handgun. She says Bell bled to death after being struck in the chest by a stray bullet.

Assisting in the prosecution of the case was ADA Andrea Thompson. The investigation was conducted by Atlanta Police Detective Brett Zimbrick and Fulton DA Investigators Stephen Barresi, Fred Hall and James Higgins. Scott Long and Lisa Hendricks of the DA's Victim-Witness Assistance Program provided assistance to the victim's family and witnesses.

WHO: Defendants Jarmmal Howard and Joe Roger Ross

WHAT: Sentencing Hearing

WHEN: Friday, March 28, 2008, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Courtroom 8-E
Judge Christopher Brasher
Fulton County Justice Center Tower

CONTACT: Lyn Vaughn, 404.730.6860 (office); 770.597.6963 (cell); lyn.vaughn@co.fulton.ga.us