An Acworth man has been sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of fatally shooting a man with an AR-15 rifle in 2020, officials announced Thursday.
Brian Lee Parker, 35, was convicted of malice murder and felony murder in the killing of 27-year-old Zachary Shaw.
On Aug. 16, 2020, Parker and a group of friends and acquaintances were at a neighbor’s house along Emerald Willow Drive, just north of downtown Acworth, according to Cobb County prosecutors. Shaw was there with his girlfriend, and an argument broke out between the couple as they left the house.
It escalated through text messages and phone calls, with Shaw threatening to hurt the woman and others in the house, officials said.
Instead of reporting the threats to police, Parker got an AR-15 from his house and went with a neighbor to confront Shaw, prosecutors said. By then, they said, Shaw was already down the street, and when Parker caught up to him, he shot him seven times. Initially, it was reported that Shaw had been shot eight times.
Police and first responders were called, and Shaw was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Parker was arrested a short time later.
At the time, it was Acworth’s first homicide since 2018. Since then, four others have been killed, the police department confirmed.
Parker was also found guilty of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Superior Court Judge Gregory Poole sentenced him to life in prison plus an additional five years.
“This guilty verdict reaffirms our commitment to holding perpetrators of violence accountable for their actions,” Cobb DA Flynn Broady Jr. said in a statement. “Brian Parker’s choice to resort to lethal force instead of calling the police resulted in the tragic loss of life, and the consequences of such decisions are severe.”
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