Deputies arrested a man Tuesday who fled a Fulton County courtroom just before he was convicted of murder, authorities said.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said Verlaine LaGuerre, of Atlanta, left the courthouse during a lunch break before his final verdict was read in April — and he never came back.
However, a recent Crime Stoppers tip told the sheriff’s office that LaGuerre was seen in Fulton County, and he was arrested a few weeks later by the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the sheriff’s office said.
After LaGuerre, 22, left the courtroom in April, the jury convicted him and accomplice Prentice Baker Jr. of killing Matthew Hardeman, 19, in 2011, AJC.com previously reported. They were both granted bond following the shooting.
RELATED: Man convicted of murder flees courtroom before verdict
In October 2011, LaGuerre and Baker got into a fight with Hardeman outside his Lakewood Terrace home in southeast Atlanta. After the fight was over, LaGuerre told Hardeman he would come back with his “red eye,” referring to his gun.
The two left, came back and opened fire on Hardeman, shooting him 50 times. His family found his body lying in the grass in his front yard.
They were both sentenced to life in prison plus five years.
LaGuerre was taken to the Fulton County Jail, and jail records show he remains there without bond this time.
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