In early 2020, a group of teenagers began a two-day crime spree in Cobb County that eventually resulted in the fatal shooting of a young father at his front door.
Over the next few days, three of the four teens were arrested and one was killed when he pulled a gun on police, Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady said. One of the surviving co-defendants later pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
On Wednesday, the fallout was complete when the remaining two defendants were convicted by a Cobb jury and received sentences ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives in prison, Broady said.
Elijah Bailey, 20, and Miguel Romo, 21, were found guilty on a bevy of charges related to multiple incidents in January 2020, according to the DA. Their charges included counts of murder, home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated assault and others. Bailey was sentenced to life in prison plus 130 years, while Romo was sentenced to life plus 90 years.
Their co-defendant, 21-year-old Damion Shropshire, pleaded guilty to murder, among other charges, in March 2023, Broady said. The fourth man involved, 19-year-old Samuel Mallard, tried to run from a Cobb SWAT unit when they attempted to take him into custody. According to Broady, Mallard pulled a gun on the pursuing officers, who shot and killed him.
Bailey, Romo and Shropshire were convicted of killing 22-year-old Daquan Murphy on Jan. 13, 2020. Their crime spree began two days earlier, when Bailey, Shropshire and Mallard drove to Hurt Road Park in search of strangers to rob at gunpoint, Broady said.
The group found a couple sitting in their car and robbed them, pulling them out of the vehicle and pressing guns to their heads, the DA said. A Colt M1911 pistol, the gun that would later be used to kill Murphy, was among the items they stole.
The group returned to the park two nights later, this time with Romo. They approached a man watching a football game on his phone under the pretense of bumming a cigarette, but quickly pulled guns on him and demanded his belongings, Broady said. The group took his car and cellphone and then fled.
According to the DA, the victim ran home, concerned the group would drive to his address since they had taken his wallet, driver’s license and keys.
The four men next went to the Alta Mill apartment complex in Austell, about 2½ miles from the scene of the robbery. At the complex, they tried to force their way into Murphy’s apartment while brandishing their guns as he attempted to shut the door. Murphy’s girlfriend and their 18-month-old daughter were asleep inside.
One of the men fired the Colt pistol through the door as Murphy tried to slam it shut, hitting him in the back and puncturing multiple major organs, Broady said. The men barged into the apartment and held the woman and her daughter, both awakened by the shot, at gunpoint while they demanded valuables. The men fled after they could not find anything to steal, leaving Murphy to bleed to death.
Cobb police quickly arrested Bailey on Jan. 15, 2020. Mallard and Shropshire, who was wearing an ankle monitor due to a prior armed robbery case, were identified next. Shropshire was arrested, while Mallard was shot and killed by police. Romo was identified and arrested about a week later. Officers found several guns when they arrested Romo, including the Colt pistol used to kill Murphy.
Broady said the evidence presented at the trial of Bailey and Romo included text messages in which they admitted to previous armed robberies and described the incident that left Murphy dead as “sloppy.” Romo texted that Murphy “shouldn’t have closed the door,” Broady said.
“What these young men treated as a game forever changed the lives of five citizens and ended the life of a young father,” Broady said. “These sentences ensure that no other member of our community will be terrorized by these men.”
