JURY CONVICTS SHOOTERS IN AMBUSH MURDER OF RIVAL

70-Rounds Fired From High-Powered Assault Rifles Striking Victim More Than 40-Times

Atlanta- A Fulton County jury has convicted two men for the retaliation murder of a rival gang member. Prentice McNeil, 26 and 27-year-old Matthew Mitchell were found guilty on all charges this afternoon including Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault and a myriad of weapons charges for the 2007 shooting death of 20-year-old Christopher Copeland. McNeil and Mitchell were sentenced to life plus five years by presiding Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams.

Christopher Copeland was gunned down in a hail of gunfire on September 20, 2007. As the victim exited the “All In One Social Club,” an illegal gambling establishment on Metropolitan Parkway in Atlanta, he was surrounded by a group of men armed with assault rifles and handguns who opened fire on him. More than seventy shots were fired, striking Copeland at least forty times throughout his body. The shooting was one of several retaliation attacks resulting from mounting tensions between two groups: 30 Deep/International Robbing Crew and a crew from ‘Campbellton Road,’ with whom the defendants were associated. Several days after the killing, Defendant McNeil was arrested outside Club Essos nightclub on Memorial Drive carrying a .40 caliber handgun. The day before his arrest, investigators recovered eight assault rifles, a handgun, ammunition and drugs from McNeil’s home.

Defendant Matthew Mitchell, originally unknown to police, was identified as one of Christopher Copeland’s killers in March of 2008 when Mitchell’s girlfriend, Veronica Johnson, came forward with information regarding the location of the murder weapon used by her boyfriend. Mitchell was subsequently indicted in June of 2009 following further investigation.

At the beginning of trial, the whereabouts of Ms. Johnson, a key witness for the State, were unknown to prosecutors and law enforcement. There was speculation Ms. Johnson might be dead. However, during the course of the trial, DA Investigators located Ms. Johnson in Florida and eventually returned her to Atlanta where she testified against Defendant Mitchell. During her testimony, Ms. Johnson stated Defendant Mitchell and his mother gave her money to leave town so she would not be forced to testify against Mitchell, the father of two of her children.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Gabe Banks director of the District Attorney’s Gang Unit and Chief Senior ADA Lance Cross with assistance from DA Investigators Marshall English and Angela Rowe. Detectives M. Cooper and D. Quinn of the Atlanta Police Department led the initial investigation.

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