Four men have been sentenced for a 2015 murder during a home invasion in Douglas County.
Sean Bernard Edwards and Trillion Wyche received life sentences , while Kennard Lee Hodge was sentenced to 35 years in prison and Khayri Danyaan Tatum received 30 years for the killing of 29-year-old Marc Foster.
All four men pleaded guilty.
A fifth suspect arrested in the case, Darryl Barksdale, is still in the process of being prosecuted, Chief Assistant District Attorney David Emadi told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In October 2015, the men planned a robbery of Foster, a young father, at his apartment in the Birch Landing complex in Austell. Armed with multiple firearms, gloves and masks, they entered the apartment after 9 p.m. and held Foster at gunpoint.
The crime quickly turned violent, and when Foster attempted to escape, he was shot three times and later died.
The men left after stealing various shoes and hats, as well as Foster’s cellphone and a gun from the home.
The Douglas County Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office were able to identify Wyche and Edwards through DNA found on discarded medical gloves at the scene. Further investigation uncovered that Edwards previously lived in the apartment above Foster and was familiar with him and his residence.
Officers also lifted fingerprints from shoe boxes in the apartment, which were confirmed as belonging to Hodge. He was arrested in October, and phone calls made by Hodge from jail then implicated Edwards, Tatum and Wyche as his accomplices.
Officers also used social media records and ballistics examinations to further confirm the involvement of the four men.
“While nothing will ever bring Marc back to his friends, his family and his young daughter, these convictions ensure that his killers will be held accountable for their heinous crimes. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family as they continue to grieve and heal from their loss,” District Attorney Ryan Leonard said in a news release.
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