Marvin Edwin

Mitchell admitted in a videotaped interview that he and his twin brother,

Melvin, robbed the Fayetteville Ingles grocery store just before it closed

Easter Sunday last year.

Police testified

that the Mitchells' vehicle was being pursued by several marked law enforcement

vehicles with their lights and sirens activated just before the collision

that claimed the life of an innocent motorist.

The evidence

was enough for a jury to convict Marvin Mitchell Wednesday afternoon for

the death of Union City veterinarian Jason A. Trotman, even though Mitchell,

23, of Jonesboro, may not have been driving the vehicle. Mitchell was

also convicted of other charges relating to the Ingles holdup.

Mitchell 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.

Superior Court

Judge Tommy Hankinson sentenced Mitchell to life in prison plus 25 years.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum punishment, which would have been

life plus 65 years.

Jury selection

in the murder case against Melvin Mitchell began Thursday morning. In

addition to the murder, armed robbery and kidnapping counts, Melvin Mitchell

also faces several traffic-related charges stemming from the pursuit.

Marvin Mitchell's

attorney, Lloyd Walker, urged the jury not to consider the videotaped

confession because it violated his client's right not to incriminate himself.

But assistant district attorney Dan Hiatt argued that Mitchell signed

a form waiving those rights and Mitchell voluntarily agreed to speak with

police investigating the case.

Although Mitchell

did not intend to kill Trotman, he was charged with murder because Georgia

law allows that to happen when someone is killed while another person

is committing a felony, Hiatt told the jury in his closing argument.

"The killing

took place because of this defendant's unlawful flight to avoid prosecution

for these offenses," Hiatt said.

Trotman was

waiting for the light to turn green when his vehicle was struck on the

driver's side by the Mitchells' vehicle, Hiatt added.

Walker countered

that the wreck wouldn't have occurred if police hadn't chased the Mitchells

from the scene of the crime.

"No policeman

drove that car," Hiatt said. "No policeman made it go 80 miles

per hour. And no policeman made it drive into this man's Nissan Pathfinder."

On the tape,

Mitchell breaks down in tears immediately after he is informed that the

driver of the other vehicle in the collision who had not been identified

at the time had died.

Mitchell told

police he and his brother wanted the cash to pay bills and that he never

intended to hurt anybody.

"I needed

some money," Mitchell told police on the video.

Walker said

the tape should not be considered as evidence since it was taken about

four hours after the collision and his client was not in the right frame

of mind to waive his right not to incriminate himself.

"He was

not really coherent and was incapable of giving a voluntary statement,"

Walker said.

Several Ingles

employees testified during the trial that two masked men entered the store

with guns and ordered them to lay down on the ground. One employee said

one of the masked men leapt over a counter into an office area and demanded

money.

Police testified

that over $6,000 from the heist was found in the Mitchells' vehicle after

they ditched it. Police also found the two masks and two handguns allegedly

used in the heist.

Walker argued

in closing arguments that the state had failed to prove its case.