Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Men convicted of murdering Applebee’s manager

A judge convicted two men of murder and armed robbery Tuesday for killing a restaurant manager as he as closing up for the night.
By Ellen Eldridge
May 31, 2016

A judge convicted two men of murder and armed robbery Tuesday for killing a restaurant manager, likely for money he didn't even have.

Greg Haney Jr. didn’t know Applebee’s manager Gregory Smith, but was a former employee at the same North Glynn Street location where the shooting occurred, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Investigators believe he and Ledarius Jawon Jackson may have targeted Smith in hopes he was carrying a night deposit from the restaurant.

The two shot Smith to death in the parking lot of the Fayette County restaurant in June 2015.

His girlfriend found his body inside his car in the parking lot.

Prosecutors said the two men were captured on the restaurant’s surveillance video, according to Channel 2 Action News.

One suspect’s ex-girlfriend and mother also testified during the trial that he had confessed to the crime.

Prosecutors also used cell phone tracking data to convict the two men.

Haney and Jackson are expected be sentenced Wednesday morning, according to Channel 2.

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Ellen Eldridge
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