Men indicted in death of Atlanta woman, 81, playing cards on porch

Johnny Maurice Avery (Credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)

Johnny Maurice Avery (Credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)

A Fulton County grand jury has indicted the two men charged in the shooting death of an 81-year-old woman as she played cards on her front porch, the district attorney's office said Friday.

Johnny Maurice Avery and Dominique Lamonta Bryant were indicted Tuesday on murder, aggravated assault and weapon charges in the killing of Mildred Martin.

About 11 p.m. July 27, Martin was on the front porch of her Proctor Street home, playing two-handed spades with a neighbor, when shots were fired, Atlanta police said.

Steven Daniel, the man Martin was playing cards with when she was shot, said he first thought she was having a heart attack.

“When she got hit, she fell back in her chair like she got stung by a bee or something like that,” Daniel said.

Martin, however, had been shot in the back and died on her front porch, police said.

Days later, Avery was arrested and charged with murder in Martin's death.

A registered sex offender, Avery was released from prison in March after serving time since April 2011 for a child molestation conviction in Henry County, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He was also previously convicted of false imprisonment, records showed.

On Aug. 4, Bryant was apprehended by police and U.S. Marshals and taken to the Fulton County Jail.

Both Avery and Bryant were being held without bond Friday in the Fulton jail.