A Cobb County jury convicted a Mexican national Monday of murder in the 2010 beating death of a 27-year-old Marietta man.
Jesus Hernandez Perez, 31, could face life in prison without the possibility of parole for the killing, which investigators said was prompted by a drug deal. His sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m., the Cobb County District Attorney’s office said.
Perez, who goes by the alias of “Chewy,” was convicted of participating in the robbery and beating death of Boydrick Powell on Sept. 18, 2010. Prosecutors contend Perez and a co-defendant, Jose “Gordo” Marcelino Badillo, beat Powell to death with a baseball bat before throwing him off a balcony at the Autumn View apartment complex on Franklin Road in Marietta.
Perez was arrested two days after the murder, but Badillo has eluded capture, and police have said they believe he is in Mexico. A grand jury indicted the pair in April 2011.
“Mr. Perez is guilty of murder because he participated in a plan with his co-defendant to commit a felony – aggravated assault and also armed robbery — and under Georgia law he is equally accountable for the death,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans, who prosecuted the case, said in an emailed statement.
Perez admitted that he and Gordo bought crack cocaine from Powell on the day of the killing, the DA’s office said. Believing they had been shorted, Gordo and Perez planned to lure Powell back to the apartment to confront him.
Once Powell was back inside the apartment, Perez locked the door and held Powell down while Gordo beat him with a baseball bat and went through Powell’s pockets, according to evidence presented during the trial. The two men then threw the body off the apartment balcony and split the stolen money, prosecutors said.
Perez remains in the Cobb County jail awaiting sentencing. He is also suspected of being in the country illegally, jail records show.
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