A man who shot a bystander during a fight at a house party last year was convicted this week in Carroll County.
A jury on Thursday found Antonio Lamar Thurman guilty of aggravated battery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two counts apiece of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Carroll County Magistrate Court Judge Michael Hubbard, who presided over the case, is scheduled to sentence Thurman during a hearing Sept. 2.
The Jonesboro man had been in the Carroll County jail without bond awaiting trial since he was arrested Sept. 29, online booking records showed. He remained in the jail Saturday, now awaiting his sentencing.
The verdict was announced in a press release issued Saturday by District Attorney John Cranford’s office in the Coweta Judicial Circuit.
The shooting interrupted a Sept. 11, 2021, house party along Shady Grove Road in Carrollton. Thurman became “enraged” with one of the other party guests around 4 a.m. and began choking the man on the front porch of the residence.
Moments after other guests stepped in to break up the fight, Thurman retrieved a gun from a bag he’d been carrying and fired two gunshots at the man he attacked.
One of the bullets struck a woman who was inside the house at the time, wounding her in the leg. The woman had to be hospitalized and she spent two months in a wheelchair as a result of the shooting, according to the release.
Cranford said the man whom Thurman attacked refused to testify during the trial and the shooting victim was hesitant to take the stand. She and only one of the other partygoers on the porch when Thurman opened fire testified, the district attorney said.
Prosecutors used video recordings that showed Thurman choking and then shooting at the man he fought.
“This case shows that the District Attorney’s Office and the Carroll County Sheriff’s department will do everything possible to hold violent offenders accountable for the terror they inflict in our neighborhoods,” Cranford said in the release. “The District Attorney’s Office understands that witnesses are often afraid to testify, but too often witness reluctance allows violent felons like this defendant to avoid accountability and continue to victimize other members of our community.”
About the Author
