A Gwinnett County 19-year-old who was found guilty of murder for killing a man during a botched drug robbery when he was 15 was given a life sentence Thursday.
Abraham Quintanar was convicted on all eight counts, including murder, related to the 2020 incident, Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said Friday. Quintanar was found guilty of killing 28-year-old Marcus Gilead during an attempted armed robbery in the victim’s driveway.
According to the DA’s office, Quintanar joined Sebastian Resendiz-Garcia and Miguel Gonzalez, who were 17 and 20 at the time, in a plan to rob Gilead on Feb. 10, 2020. Gonzalez had paid Gilead $600 for marijuana earlier that day and planned to steal his money back, Austin-Gatson said.
The three would-be robbers ambushed Gilead at his home on Wrenwood Court in Loganville, where he was sitting in an SUV in his driveway with another man, the DA’s office said. The group approached the SUV with guns drawn and held the two men at gunpoint, ordering them to empty their pockets.
Though investigators are not sure who fired the first shot, one of the guns went off, and the attempted robbery devolved into chaos, according to Austin-Gatson. Gilead ran around the SUV, tackled Quintanar and began punching the teenager. Quintanar was able to get ahold of his gun and shoot Gilead, an action he later confessed to detectives, the DA said.
Resendiz-Garcia was the first to be arrested the day after the shooting. Gonzalez and Quintanar were arrested within the next few days.
Resendiz-Garcia ultimately pleaded guilty to reduced charges of voluntary manslaughter, Austin-Gatson said. He is serving a 20-year sentence in state prison.
Quintanar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole plus five years, according to the DA’s office.
Gonzalez was released in April 2020 on $50,000 bond and has been confined to his home with an ankle monitor since then, Austin-Gatson said. He is also facing multiple serious charges, including two counts of murder, and is awaiting trial.
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