Two men were sentenced to life in prison after they were convicted of causing a fatal fire to get revenge on those they believed were infringing on their drug-dealing territory.
Kendrick Ogletree, 45, and Mark Kirkland, 36, were both convicted of several charges, including arson and murder, after prosecutors said they used a Molotov cocktail to start a fire at a home on Jett Street in northwest Atlanta in 2015, according to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.
Debra Morris, 46, and DeAngelo Barbary, 36, both died in the fire. Howard said neither of them were involved in the “drug-related disputes” Kirkland and Ogletree had with their competition.
Ogletree lived at a home on Jett Street and sold heroin out of it, Howard said. He and Kirkland, who was his boyfriend, were regularly involved in fights with the residents of the house next door because they were related to people who sold cocaine in the area, according to Howard.
Just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 10, 2015, Kirkland knocked on the neighboring home’s door. Morris, who rented a room inside the house, answered, Howard said.
As Morris opened the door, Kirkland threw the Molotov cocktail inside.
The device shattered in the hallway and the house erupted into flames, Howard said. Barbary shared a room with Morris that was situated adjacent to where the Molotov cocktail shattered. Neither were able to escape the fire.
Four other people who lived in the house were able to evacuate, Howard said.
Witnesses who were in the area before the fire started identified Kirkland as the person who threw the Molotov cocktail into the home and recognized Ogletree as someone who sold drugs.
Officials said Kirkland did not have a criminal history before the fire, but Ogletree had been convicted of possession of cocaine in 1994, possession with intent to distribute in 2004 and possession of heroin with intent to distribute in 2015.
Investigators spoke with several people who said Ogletree had asked them to burn down the house next door using a Molotov cocktail, Howard said.
In addition to arson and murder, Kirkland and Ogletree were convicted of felony murder, conspiracy to commit arson and criminal solicitation.
Ogletree was sentenced to an additional 13 years on top of his life sentence, Howard said.
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