A Coweta County teenager will spend the rest of his life in prison after killing the cousin who tried to set him straight.
Danny Long was found guilty of murder last week in the 2019 death of Edmond Irvin, a 25-year-old Coweta County sheriff’s deputy who was months away from becoming a father. Prosecutors said Irvin was shot and killed April 30 after confronting the 17-year-old Long inside the family’s Snowfall Terrace home in Palmetto.
“Approximately 10 minutes before the shooting, Deputy Irvin and Long got into a physical altercation stemming from Deputy Irvin speaking to Long about staying out late, getting in trouble, and disrespecting and cussing at Long’s own mother, who was also Deputy Irvin’s cousin,” a spokesman for District Attorney Herb Cranford said in a news release.
Irvin was not aware that Long returned to his bedroom, pulled a gun from his dresser and stashed it in his pocket, according to Cranford. The deputy was unarmed when he approached Long again after several minutes, trying to make things right.
Prosecutors said the older cousin brought the younger his jacket, which Long had thrown on the ground outside.
“According to Long, Deputy Irvin was trying to be nice to him when he entered his room,” the district attorney’s spokesman said. “However, Long was still angry about the earlier altercation so he yelled and cursed at Deputy Irvin and shoved him.”
They got into another physical fight, prosecutors said. Other family members in the home said they heard Long yell “I ain’t no punk (expletive)” before three gunshots rang out, according to the release. Irvin died at the scene.
“Immediately after the shooting, Long ran out of the house, but not before threatening to shoot and kill Deputy Irvin’s pregnant fiancée, who screamed at Long as he fled the scene,” the spokesman said. Long was later arrested after a search along I-85.
A weeklong trial ended at 11 p.m. Friday, when the jury returned guilty verdicts for charges of malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, and criminal use of a firearm with an altered identification. During sentencing, prosecutors argued that Long’s past threats of violence and history of selling firearms necessitated his incarceration.
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