Three men pleaded guilty Monday to their roles in a 2013 drug-related shooting death outside a Cobb County Zaxby’s restaurant, the District Attorney said.
Gershom Brown, 28, of Marietta, Desmond Mosby, 28, of Smyrna, and Kemanie Rhaburn, 30, of Los Angeles, were each charged in the death of Jarvis McNabb, 29, of Decatur.
McNabb was shot in the parking lot of the Zaxby's on South Cobb Drive, near Smyrna, around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2013, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. He died before he arrived at WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
Within 24 hours of McNabb’s death, all three suspects were in custody, Cobb police previously said. Brown, Mosby and Rhaburn pleaded guilty Monday as jury selection began for their trial, DA Vic Reynolds said.
According to investigators, the defendants and McNabb were transporting nearly 10 pounds of marijuana to Alabama when they got into an argument, Reynolds said. McNabb was shot twice after the vehicle pulled in to the Zaxby’s.
“Drugs and drug transactions are dangerous,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans said in an emailed statement. “When people make the choice to participate in the drug trade, death is often the result. These are serious crimes, as are the consequences.”
Brown, who had claimed self defense in the shooting, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Reynolds said.
Mosby pleaded guilty to possessing 9.5 pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute, and a firearms-possession charge. He was sentenced him to 15 years, with seven years to serve in custody and the rest on probation.
Rhaburn also pleaded guilty to possessing 9.5 pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute and was sentenced to 10 years, with seven years to serve in custody and the rest on probation.
At the time of his 2013 arrest, Brown had two prior felony convictions in Cobb County, and had been in state prison twice since 2007, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He served from October 2007 until May 2008 and again in July 2010, when he spent 15 days in prison, records show. Brown has previously been convicted for obstructing a law enforcement officer, impersonating another and simple battery, according to the DOC.
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