A 24-year-old Marietta man has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting a man in the leg while trying to rob him.
A jury on Friday convicted Jaylin Marquis Bell on charges of gang participation, armed robbery, aggravated assault and possessing a firearm as a felon, according to a Cobb County District Attorney’s Office news release.
READ | Cobb cops: MS-13 gang member arrested in retaliatory drive-by shooting
Prosecutors said Bell is a member of the Sur 13 gang, also known as the Sureños gang, which started as a prison gang in California, according to the Department of Justice. The Sureños — "sur" meaning "south" in Spanish — started as members of other southern California gangs who worked together under the Sureños name while in prison.
The night after Valentine’s Day 2016, Bell and two other gang members had told a man that they were going to buy marijuana from him, according to Kim Isaza, spokeswoman for the Cobb DA’s office.
READ | Woman gets prison for 'bizarre' stabbing of 17-year-old Cobb cousin
Bell hid inside a shed while others lured the man out of his trailer on Atlanta Road in Marietta, according to a police warrant.
While robbing him, Bell hit the man in the face with a Mac-11 automatic pistol and kicked him multiple times before shooting him in his left shin.
Isaza said the two other suspects pleaded guilty in 2017 and were sentenced to five and 13 years in prison. They both testified against Bell, she said.
Records show Bell has been in the Cobb County jail since being arrested a couple of days after the crime.
Like Cobb County News Now on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter
In other news...
