A 22-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of killing a marijuana dealer and taking off with his product as a part of a plan to earn money for rent.
A Fulton County judge sentenced William Ford to life in prison without the possibility of parole for shooting Travion Gill, 25, in the back of the head and stealing his marijuana on Aug. 4, 2017, prosecutors said Wednesday in a statement. An additional 10 years was tacked onto the sentence.
Officials said Ford initially planned for the incident to be a robbery. Ford needed money to pay back rent to his landlord and had promised to do so by the end of the week, Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard said.
Ford reached out to an acquaintance to inquire about purchasing marijuana. That acquaintance was busy and referred Ford to Gill.
Ford’s plan was to go to Gill’s Browns Mill Road home, steal his marijuana and sell it so he could earn enough money for rent. However, upon finding that Gill had a handgun, he realized his plan wouldn’t be as simple as he thought, Howard said.
Gill turned to weigh the amount of marijuana Ford said he wanted to buy. While his back was turned, Ford shot Gill in the head with a 9mm handgun, Howard said.
Gill died at the scene, and Ford took off with his gun and a black bag filled with 6.3 ounces of marijuana.
“Fifteen minutes after murdering Gill, Ford boldly texted potential customers to see if they were willing to purchase the marijuana he stole from the victim,” Howard said.
The next morning, Gill’s girlfriend found his body inside his home. An Atlanta police detective arrived at the house and spoke to a neighbor across the street. The neighbor told the detective he was working outside his home when Ford pulled into his driveway in a gray Ford Fusion.
“Ford asked the neighbor if he had an ‘ounce’ and the neighbor said the defendant was acting ‘fidgety and geeked up,’” Howard said.
The neighbor told Ford to leave. A short time later, the neighbor heard a gunshot coming from Gill’s home and saw Ford put a black bag in his trunk and drive off, Howard said.
The neighbor had working surveillance cameras outside of his house. Those cameras captured Ford arriving and leaving from Gill’s home around the same time the neighbor heard the gunshot, Howard said.
Atlanta police arrested Ford at his job in Cobb County on Aug. 9. Howard said when investigators searched Ford’s car, they found a 9mm pistol under the driver’s seat and a black bag of marijuana in the trunk.
“The neighbor identified Ford in a photo lineup, as did the acquaintance who originally directed Ford to reach out to Gill about purchasing marijuana,” Howard said.
A Fulton jury found Ford guilty of murder, felony, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a first offender probationer, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felon, and burglary in the first degree.
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