A man charged in a December crime spree in Gwinnett County that ended with two people shot faces up to 150 years in prison after rejecting a plea deal from the state.
Ezekiel Boyd turned down the deal that would have sentenced him to 35 years with 20 to serve.
He and co-defendant Anthony Penick are accused of breaking into an apartment Dec. 19 and stealing three guns. A week later they are accused of wounding a woman during a drive-by shooting and then one hour later shooting Juan Sanchez during an attempted armed robbery.
"I thought they were going to take the plea--20 years versus the possibility of 150 years; I thought they would take the plea," says Beth Sanchez who was at the court hearing with her husband.
Juan Sanchez was working on his truck with a friend in the parking lot of his apartment complex when he says the two men drove up and demanded money. When Sanchez told them he had none, he says Boyd shot him in the stomach.
The bullet shattered his hip and he has since undergone multiple surgeries. He is still unable to work and his wife says the couple continues to struggle.
"I still can't find work; we're still living off donations from family and friends," Beth Sanchez tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.
She is convinced the two suspects will be found guilty once the case goes to trial.
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