Fulton man gets life for 2012 murder of disabled veteran

Three years after the body of a 54-year-old disabled veteran was found in an Atlanta street, a Fulton County jury has found one of three suspects in the killing guilty of murder.

In addition to murder, Andre Juvell Byrd, 25, was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery in the July 26, 2012, shooting death of David McReynolds, District Attorney Paul Howard said Monday. Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford sentenced Byrd to life plus five years in prison.

According to Howard’s office, Byrd and two accomplices followed McReynolds from a convenience store on Ormond and Martin streets where family members said he played the lottery. A store surveillance camera caught Byrd “eyeing the victim moments before the shooting,” Howard’s office said in an email. Byrd, according to authorities, shot McReynolds in the chest “after noticing a large amount of cash in the victim’s hands.”

McReynolds’ body was found in the 700 block of Hill Street, just south of Georgia Avenue.

Byrd’s accomplices, Dedrick Hale and Quinterious Hogans, still face trial on murder and robbery charges.