Newspaper Page Text
QUICK FINDER
Business
17A
Education
18-1M
Sports
71-7311
Opinion
Hit
classified
20A
HISTORIC TUCKER
SITE MAKES PLACES
IN PERIL LIST
LOCAL GA
RETIRING BABY
BOOMERS TO BE A
BOON TO NONPROFITS
LOCAL 8A
SANTA RIOES
MOUNTAIN
LOCAL13A
The Official Legal Organ of DeKafb County, GA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Ctiamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doravi lie, Dun woody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.
o o CHAMPION
1ST Place
General excellence
Award winner
Georgia Press Association
‘Better Newspaper Contest’
2007, 2009-2015
SECTION A: VOL 25 NO. 23
DECEMBER 3 - 9,2015
500
Gang member sentenced to life
in prison for murder of baby
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
I t will be 50 years before Devin
Thomas could be released from
prison.
The 20-year-old pleaded guilty
to seven of eight charges, including
malice murder, in the shooting death
of 9-month-old KenDarious Edwards
Jr. DeKalb Superior Court Judge Asha
Jackson sentenced Thomas on Nov. 30
to life in prison, plus 20 years, with the
possibility of parole.
Edwards was one of four people
shot in their home on To Lani Farm
Road in Stone Mountain on May 10,
2014. According to Assistant District
Attorney Anna Green-Cross, Thomas
and two other gang members wentto
the home looking for Oslushla Smith,
Cutrez Johnson and Kemontay Cul-
lins.
Smith, Johnson and Cullins, all
members of the Bloods gang, were
previously arrested and indicted for
the death of fellow gang member
Alexis Malone. The May 10 shooting
was in retaliation of Malones murder,
according to prosecutors.
“After several hours of looking
throughout the day for those people
and unable to find Mr. Smith, in par
ticular, Thomas and two other gang
members decided they had to do
something to send a message about
the murder of Alexis Malone,” Green-
Cross said.
Green-Cross said Thomas and his
accomplices knew where Smith and
Johnson’s mother lived and drove to
her home. Living at the home was Ed
wards, along with his mother Tanyika
Smith, his grandmother, Tracy Smith,
and family friend Teniqua Clark.
The three women heard Thomas
and his accomplices kicking in the
back door and called 911 and barri
caded themselves in a bathroom. The
door was broken down by Thomas and
Watson and then shooting began.
“At least 12 gunshots were fired in
that tiny bathroom,” Green-Cross said.
Edwards, who was being held by
See Prison on Page 15A
Devin Thomas looks back at the family of KenDarious Edwards Jr. before he pled guilty
to killing the 9-month-old baby.
Former GPC president aims to restore public image
Watchdog group “exonerates” former Georgia Perimeter President
Anthony Tricoli.
by Ashley Oglesby
ashley@dekalbchamp.com
When Georgia Perimeter College experi
enced its $25 million budget deficit in 2014,
Anthony Tricoli was terminated from his
position as president of the college.
After more than three years of open re
cord requests, reviewing emails, University
System of Georgias (USG) audits and the
evidence provided to the courts, Georgia
Watchdogs, a nonpartisan consortium of
government watchdog organizations and
individuals, has released a newsletter claim
ing the exoneration of Tricoli. The four-page
newsletter cited documents that suggest Tri
coli was provided with false and misleading
budget reports and was in no way responsible
for any budget shortfall at Georgia Perimeter
College (GPC).
According to Tricoli s attorney Stephen
Humphreys, Georgia Watchdogs does not
have any legal power to exonerate Tricoli.
However, “It’s clearing his name in the public
view,” Humphreys said.
“What’s important about what Geor
gia Watchdogs has done is [the newsletter]
is based on the records. It is based on the
University System of Georgia’s own docu
ments and Georgia Perimeter College’s own
documents which we will be using in court,”
Humphreys said.
He added, “Anthony Tricoli when he was
ousted on the basis of a bunch of falsified
budget reports... he was destroyed. He has
not been able to get another job.”
See GPC on Page 15A
641 t A
1
^CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER CHAMPIONNEWS ^CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER