Man found guilty of murder in 2020 killing of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in Atlanta

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ATLANTA (AP) — A jury in Atlanta on Friday found a man guilty of murder and other charges and was sentenced to life in prison in the July 2020 shooting death of an 8-year-old girl who was riding in an SUV near a weekslong protest at the site where police had fatally shot a Black man.

Julian Conley, 25, was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and gang-related charges in the killing of Secoriea Turner. Murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Georgia. The judge is left to decide whether or not to grant the possibility of parole, which is not allowed until 30 years of the sentence has been served.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Carnesale sentenced Conley to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole on the murder charge because of his “reckless disregard for the life of this child.” He was also sentenced to an additional 25 years on other charges.

A second man, Jerrion McKinney, earlier this month received a 40-year sentence, with 20 years to serve in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, gun and gang-related charges in the girl’s death.

Tears ran down the face of Charmaine Turner, Secoriea's mother, as the jury foreperson read the verdict. She and the girl's father, Secoriey Williamson, both urged the judge to give Conley the maximum sentence possible, saying they had seen no remorse.

Conley's mother, Robyn Conley, told the judge, “Julian would like me to say that he is truly sorry for the loss of Secoriea Turner.” She urged Carnesale to show leniency and to impose a sentence that reflects the five years her son has already served and his potential for growth.

She turned to face Secoriea's family in the courtroom and said, “My family's heart and my heart goes out to you always.”

Carnesale said she appreciated the words of both families, acknowledging the suffering on both sides. She described the case as “fraught with conflict” and “a tragedy.” She said videos shown during trial showed Conley brandishing a gun and acting as a “self-appointed enforcer.”

Secoriea was riding in the back of a Jeep with her mother and her mother’s friend on July 4, 2020, near the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, had been killed by a white police officer weeks earlier. Protesters had been rallying against police brutality nationwide since the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

The restaurant was set ablaze the night after Brooks’ death, and protesters camped at the site for weeks afterward. Not far away, armed men had been occupying makeshift barricades, blocking roads and turning some drivers away. Police said the SUV Secoriea was riding in was driving near one of the barricades when at least one person shot into the vehicle.

Detectives testified during the trial that police and city officials had abandoned the area at night out of concern over the potential for escalating violence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Most of the people camped out in the area were activists protesting recent high-profile killings of Black people. But prosecutors said on the night Secoriea was killed, a group of Bloods criminal street gang members, including Conley, was present and aimed to “terrorize people in the community,” the newspaper reported.

Jurors saw video of a man pointing an assault rifle at a couple, who were turned away from the intersection just before the shooting that killed Secoriea. They also saw video of when prosecutors say Conley fired eight bullets into the Jeep the girl was riding in, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutor Adam Abbate said Conley was the man in a red shirt seen in surveillance video from businesses. Defense attorney Arnold Ragus said some witnesses, including the girl's mother, told police there were multiple shooters in black.

Conley was a gang member but did not fire the shot that killed the girl, Ragus told jurors, according to the Journal-Constitution. Ragus blamed city officials and police for allowing dangerous conditions to develop.

McKinney, who wasn’t charged with murder, on Sept. 10 entered Alford pleas, which allows a person to maintain his innocence while acknowledging that it is in his best interest to plead guilty. He told the judge that he didn’t hurt Secoriea, saying he has children and feels sorry about what happened to the girl, the Journal-Constitution reported.