DEFENDANT IN TRAVEL LODGE MURDER CONVICTED

19-Year-Old Chas Clifford Cannon Sentenced to Life in Prison

Atlanta—Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the conviction of the defendant charged in the February 2006 murder of an Austell man at the Travel Lodge on Shirley Drive and Fulton Industrial Boulevard in Atlanta. The Fulton County jury deliberating the case found 19-year-old Chas Clifford Cannon of Atlanta guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Witnesses, including one who saw the actual shooting, told police Cannon was attempting to rob 42-year-old Aaron Spady at gunpoint in the back parking lot of the motel. She told the Court the defendant mistakenly thought Spady was trying to pull a weapon as Spady rummaged in his pockets to come up with money. Spady, formerly of New York, was shot once in the head and once in the chest. He died at the scene.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Charles Webb prosecuted the case. The work of Detective Curtis Young of the Fulton County Police Department, Patrice Nesbitt of the Fulton DA’s Investigative Unit and Pamela Powell of the DA’s Victim-Witness helped secure the conviction.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Manis sentenced to the defendant to a mandatory life sentence plus five years; then, suspended the five additional years.

CONTACT: Lyn Vaughn, 404.730.6860 (office); 404.597.6963 (cell); lyn.vaughn@co.fulton.ga.us