Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams on Monday sentenced an Atlanta gang member to life in prison plus 70 years for three robberies and a murder that ignited a firestorm of public anger over rampant crime in Atlanta.
“John's death was a body blow so strong and intense that I don’t think we will ever recover,” Don Henderson, father of slain bartender John Henderson, told the judge before sentencing. “It has left a chasm so deep and dark within us that nothing can fill the emptiness in our lives.”
He finished in tears about the adopted son who he said wanted to own his own tavern and grow old in Atlanta.
"John's place at our table will never be filled," he said. "John wanted to live in Atlanta happy and successful for the rest of his life and he got his wish, even though he didn't fulfill his dream."
Henderson asked that citizens of the city be spared further violence from "this wolf, this pack," referring to Jonathan Redding, the 19-year-old defendant, and his gang, 30 Deep. “I ask you to sentence him in such a way that the consequences of his cowardly acts affect every single day of the remainder of his natural life.”
Dorothy Redding, the defendant's mother, pleaded with Adams to show leniency, contending her son had been lured into the gang life.
“I know in my heart that is not the doing of my child," she said of Redding's trail of crime. “My child and my family is truly a praying, church-going family.
“That is my only son," the mother of eight children said as she wept before the judge. “Lord have mercy.”
Her weeping resumed loudly when Adams sentenced Redding to the additional 70 years to be served consecutive to the life term. This could greatly increase the time when Redding is eligible for parole. Under a life sentence, Redding is not eligible for parole for 30 years.
Lead prosecutor Gabe Banks reminded Adams of the other victims: Ashley Elder, who was with Henderson when he was murdered; Robin McMillian, who was robbed and shot at by Redding; and Eddie Pugh, a convicted drug dealer and gambling "spot" operator, whose partner wounded Redding during an attempted armed robbery two days after the Standard killing.
Redding's trial had to be postponed until last week after Pugh was shot during the weekend before the original trial date in February. Pugh lost a leg as a result of that shooting, which detectives have not linked to 30 Deep.
"A message needs to be sent ... to every individual in our community and 30 Deep in particular... that this type of conduct will not be tolerated," Banks said.
It took the Fulton County jury took about two hours to convict Redding of killing the popular Grant Park bartender, despite an argument from Redding's lead lawyer that only circumstantial evidence tied him to the murder.
Banks successfully argued that the circumstantial evidence proved Redding was one of the robbers who held up the Standard Food & Spirits on Jan. 7, 2009, when Henderson, a 27-year-old staffer, was murdered. T
No witness identified Redding, 17 at the time of the shooting, as one of the gunmen during that robbery. But McMillian, who was robbed in the tavern parking lot a month before the Henderson killing, said Redding shot at him.
Two days after Henderson died, police recovered a Smith & Wesson pistol at the scene of a botched armed robbery at the apartment of Eddie Pugh, an Atlanta drug dealer. Pugh's partner fired back at the robbers with an AK-47, wounding one. Police recovered the pistol with Redding's blood on it and later arrested a wounded Redding.
Defense lawyer Liz Markowitz conceded the gun showed Redding participated in that crime but not in the previous two, even though ballistics matched the gun to the McMillian robbery and also to one of the weapons fired during the Henderson killing.
Markowitz argued "guns get passed around" and that the original description of the gunman during the McMillian robbery didn't match Redding. Defense lawyers and prosecutors contend Johnquavious Hood, another 30 Deep gang member who reputedly boasted of killing Henderson, is the man who fired the fatal shot.
Hood has not been charged in the murder. Prosecutors say they lack evidence to corroborate a witness' claim that Hood bragged of committing the murder. Redding has refused to cooperate with police.
After the sentence, District Attorney Paul Howard assured the Henderson family the police are still pursing other suspects in the case. Atlanta Police Major Keith Meadows, who oversees high-profile felonies, said investigators are still looking for witnesses.
"It is not going to be easy but sometimes slow and steady wins the race," Meadows said.
Don Henderson praised authorities for attacking the gang problem in the city. He said his family would do its part by lobbying state authorities to ensure Jonathan Redding never is paroled.
"The bottom line is he never sees a free day for the rest of his life," Henderson said. "I think the judge gave us that today."
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