Gwinnett man pleads guilty in gang-related slaying

A Gwinnett County man pleaded guilty Monday to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of a reputed gangster in 2008.

Superior Court Judge Debra Turner sentenced Brandon Mullins, 21, to spend 18 years in prison. Mullins shot Rafael “8 Ball” Watson on March 27, 2008 in a gas station parking lot in Lawrenceville. A Lawrenceville Police detective testified at a pretrial hearing that the acquaintances argued over a drug-related debt before the shooting.

Police said Watson was a kingpin in a violent street gang known as 243, a Lawrenceville set of the Bloods. Mullins had been charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.