PIMPS FOUND ‘GUILTY’ OF MURDER

Killing Retaliation for Robbery of Prostitute

Atlanta-Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the conviction by jury trial of three men, including two pimps, for murder. Marquice Burks, 25, Courtney Franklin, 29, and 24-year old Johnny McClendon, the shooter, were convicted of Murder, Aggravated Assault and weapons charges for the shooting death of 29- year old Christopher Crawford.

Crawford was gunned down on the night of April 13, 2007 near the intersection of Lowery and MLK in Southwest Atlanta. Earlier in the evening, the victim decided to rob a prostitute while at the nearby KFC restaurant on Lowery Boulevard, ultimately stealing five dollars from her. The woman’s pimp, Courtney Franklin, was sitting in a parked car at the BP gas station next door at the time of the incident. When he learned of the robbery, he called Marquice Burks, a fellow pimp, and ordered him to ‘bring a gun’ to the area. Meantime, defendant Franklin, who had confronted the victim in the parking lot, warned him that he would have ‘his boy’ shoot him in apparent retaliation for robbing his prostitute. A short time later, defendants Marquice Burks and Johnny McClendon arrived on scene in a separate car. After defendant Franklin pointed out the victim to his two accomplices, defendant McClendon exited the car with a shirt covering his face and shot Christopher Crawford five times wounding him in his arms, legs and back. After shooting the victim, McClendon fired more shots at witnesses as he ran back to the car. The defendants, who fled the scene of the crime, were arrested several months later following tips to police.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson, who presided over the case, sentenced each defendant to life plus ten years in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Brett Pinion with assistance from ADA Stephanie Graham and DA Investigator Kurtis Young. Detective A. Smith with the Atlanta Police Department led the initial investigation.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov