The 30 Deep gang member who, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office has alleged, fired the gun that killed a Grant Park bartender in January 2009 could be out of prison by the end of the month.
Johnquavious Hood was never charged in the Standard Food and Spirits robbery and shooting.
Though the slaying of John Henderson sparked an influential grassroots movement of in-town Atlanta residents fed up with increasingly brazen criminal acts, only one of four suspects has been brought to trial so far. The police investigation is continuing.
Hood, 20, is currently incarcerated in Georgia State Prison in Reidsville for burglary, aggravated assault and gang activity, among other offenses. His sentence runs through Dec. 14, but he is eligible to be released May 19 if he successfully completes a work-release program.
Hood has denied shooting Henderson but admitted in court testimony that he was a member of 30 Deep, based in Atlanta's Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
"I have a real concern that Hood will return to the environment that nurtured his diverse criminal activity, and he will kill again," Don Henderson, the father of John Henderson, wrote in a letter to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The retired church organist, who lives in Baltimore, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he is encouraging friends and family members to write to the board in hopes of keeping Hood locked up until December.
"If we can keep him in prison a little longer, maybe the state will have enough time to bring charges," said Henderson, who believes Hood shot his 27-year-old son in the head before leaving the Memorial Drive tavern with three other reputed 30 Deep members on Jan. 7, 2009.
Of the four offenders alleged to have participated in the robbery and shooting that night, only one -- Jonathan Redding -- faced charges. He was tried under a law that allows a jury to convict a defendant for murder if he participated in an armed robbery that resulted in a death.
Redding, 17 at the time of the Standard break-in, was sentenced to life plus 70 years in prison for his role in Henderson's shooting and three robberies.
Though prosecutors were unable to corroborate one witness' claim that Hood boasted of killing Henderson, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard assured the popular bartender's family that police would continue to investigate.
Nearly 14 months later, the investigation continues, according to a spokeswoman for the D.A.'s office. Added APD spokesman Curtis Davenport, "If there are any witnesses out there, we would love to speak to them."
Don Henderson said he will continue to press investigators.
"I don't believe [Hood] can be rehabilitated," he said.
Hood, testifying at Redding's trial, was unapologetic about his membership in 30 Deep, which he referred to as "a family."
"You label us a gang because of what we’re doing," he said. “We got to get money. We can’t get a job or anything. What’s the grudge against us?”
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