Savannah criminal lawyers begin murder trial in Chatham County
On Tuesday, jurors in a Chatham County courtroom heard testimony of how a Savannah man urged the killing of a convenient store clerk during an armed robbery.
The Savannah Morning News has the story.
On December 23, 2005, Vipin Patel, 65, was gunned down while working at his Kwik Way Food Mart in Garden City during an apparent armed robbery. Prosecutors believe four men entered the convenient store with the intention of robbing it while a fifth man remained outside in a getaway car. After the shooting, the getaway car ran out of gas and the men had to run from the scene on foot.
It is alleged that the shooter, 23 year-old Hector Gibson, fired his gun at the urging of 35 year-old Harry Roosevelt Newkirk. It was Newkirk’s cousin, 23 year-old Anthony Gerald Haynes, who told jurors that Newkirk instructed Gibson to shoot Patel, and that Newkirk was one of the men who had planned the robbery. Prosecutors also offered evidence showing Newkirk carrying the store’s safe out the front door immediately following the shooting.
Newkirk’s defense attorney argued that Newkirk was by himself when the other men enticed him into joining. Defense counsel also alleged that prosecutors made deals with the co-defendants in exchange for testimony against Newkirk. In fact, Haynes was able to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in return for his testimony against Newkirk and the other men. Newkirk’s attorney also introduced evidence showing that Haynes had given conflicting statements about what had occurred.
Gibson, the shooter, was convicted of murder last year.
Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.
