25-YEAR SENTENCE FOR GUNMEN IN GANG RETALIATION SHOOTING

State vs. Marco Moses and Moerise Williams

Atlanta- Two men convicted last month for the retaliation shooting of a group of street rivals were sentenced this morning to 25 years in prison by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams. 25-year-old Marco Moses and 29-year-old Moerise Williams were convicted May 19, 2011 on three counts of Aggravated Assault and weapons charges for their role in an ambush attack on three men.

The incident happened on September 26, 2007 outside the ‘24-hour’ convenience store at the corner of McDaniel and Glenn Streets in Mechanicsville. Armed with assault rifles and handguns, the defendants approached a parked vehicle and opened fire on three passengers. More than twenty shots were fired striking one of the men seven times in the arm. The two other men escaped injury. The shooting was one of several retaliation attacks resulting from mounting tensions between two groups: 30 Deep/International Robbing Crew- well known local gangs -and a loose-knit group with whom the defendants were associated from ‘Campbellton Road.’

The gunmen fled the scene but were later arrested after being identified by eyewitnesses. Prentice McNeil, indicted as a third co-defendant pled guilty prior to the start of trial and was sentenced to ten years in prison. McNeil is currently serving a life sentence for murder in a related attack that occurred six days prior to this incident.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Senior Assistant District Attorneys Gabe Banks and Lance Cross of the Gang Unit with assistance from DA Investigator Ernest Nesmith. Detective Mark Cooper of the Atlanta Police Department led the investigation.

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