An Atlanta man was convicted

Monday of killing an innocent motorist after robbing a south Fayetteville

grocery store at gunpoint with his twin brother and leading police on

a brief chase Easter Sunday last year.

Melvin Edward Mitchell, 23,

was also found guilty of killing Union City veterinarian Jason Trotman

when the vehicle he drove crashed into Trotman's vehicle which was waiting

at the intersection of Ga. Highway 85 and north Jeff Davis Drive. Mitchell

was also convicted of armed robbery, possession of a firearm during the

commission of a crime, fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer

and two counts each of kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Mitchell was sentenced to life

in prison plus 25 years by Superior Court Judge Tommy Hankinson. His twin

brother, Marvin Edwin Mitchell, received the same sentence last week after

he was found guilty of murder, armed robbery, possession of a firearm

during the commission of a crime and two counts each of kidnapping and

false imprisonment.

Witnesses in both trials testified

that two armed and masked men entered the Ingles store just before it

closed Easter Sunday. One of the men jumped a counter to an office area

and forced one of the victims to empty the safe at gunpoint, witnesses

testified. Others in the store were ordered to the ground, according to

testimony.

Although Melvin Mitchell's

attorney argued the police were at fault for causing the chase, assistant

district attorney Dan Hiatt said that wasn't the case.

"The right foot under

that table is the foot that was on that gas pedal," Hiatt said, pointing

to the defendant. "The hands in that lap were driving that steering

wheel. ... The choice he could've made was to pull over."

Mitchell's attorney, Judy Chidester

countered that the prosecution didn't test the guns that were recovered

from Mitchell's vehicle for fingerprints and they didn't test the masks

taken from the vehicle for any hair fibers.

"I want you to consider

the evidence the state didn't put in," Chidester said.

Fayetteville police officer

Robert Mask testified that his vehicle reached speeds of 110 mph on north

Jeff Davis Drive trying to catch up to Mitchell's vehicle trying to get

a tag number.

At that point, "I was

slowly gaining on the vehicle but it had gained some distance on me,"

Mask said, adding that he felt safe to pursue the vehicle because of the

light traffic that evening.

The in-car video camera on

Mask's patrol vehicle was malfunctioning during the pursuit, but he testified

that he attempted to pull over the Mitchell's vehicle with his blue lights

and siren activated since the vehicle matched the description relayed

to 911 dispatchers by an eyewitness.

When the collision occurred,

it flipped over Trotman's sport utility vehicle, Mask testified. After

the collision, two black males exited Mitchell's vehicle and were later

caught on foot by Fayetteville police officers and deputies from the Fayette

County Sheriff's Department.

Fayetteville police officer

J.D. Lakeman testified that he was present when Melvin Mitchell was treated

at the Fayette Community Hospital Emergency Room after he was arrested.

At that time, Mitchell told the nurse that he was injured in a motor vehicle

collision.

"He told her his name

was Melvin Mitchell," Lakeman said. "... He said he was in the

driver's seat of the vehicle."

Dr. Kryzsztof Podjaski, a medical

examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said an autopsy of

Trotman's body revealed that he died of a severe injury to his spinal

cord.

Back

to News Home Page |