A young man will go to prison for a long time because he killed a man in Atlanta over $5.
David Blake, 27, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 56-year-old disabled man, the office of Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced Friday.
In June 2007, Blake punched John Platt in the face so hard that it knocked Platt down, onto the concrete. He died of traumatic brain injuries sustained from the blow, said Yvette Brown, a spokeswoman for Howard.
Platt, who weighed 111 pounds, suffered from several disabilities: he had cerebral palsy, was blind in one eye, couldn't use his left arm and walked with a limp.
He met his killer at the intersection of Arthur Langford Place and Booker Street in southwest Atlanta in the hopes of buying $5 worth of crack cocaine, Brown said. The attack occurred after the two argued over the transaction.
Blake's girlfriend and two children saw the attack but were afraid to give statements until Blake was arrested a year later on other assault charges. They helped with the investigation, and a jury convicted Blake after hearing about his "propensity for assaulting people," Brown said.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Christopher Brasher sentenced Blake to life in prison.
