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Georgia mom scolds jury for convicting son after he’s sentenced to life in prison for murder of man on bike

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Georgia mom scolds jury for convicting son after he’s sentenced to life in prison for murder of man on bike


A Georgia mom’s courtroom outburst took center stage during her son’s murder trial as she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the jury following its unanimous decision to sentence the pair to life in prison

Demetrice Ross and Brandon Williams were found guilty on fifteen combined charges in connection with the 2022 murder of 60-year-old Thomas Arnold on Atlanta’s BeltLine.

Ross’ mother, Valerie, expressed her delusional belief that her son was not a murderer to the Fulton County jury after the pair was convicted on Wednesday.

“I believe with my whole heart, my whole heart, with my whole heart, with my whole heart, with my whole heart,” a hysterical Valerie Ross said. “My son, Demetrice Ross is innocent.”

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Demetrice Ross and Brandon Williams stand in court as the verdicts are read by the foreperson on April 30, 2025. 11 Alive

The older Ross implied she would appeal her son’s conviction, saying that the jury’s seven-hour deliberation was too short and they didn’t have enough time to discuss the case, according to WSBTV.

Ross and Williams were found guilty of shooting Arnold during a violent attempted robbery as he walked back home after spending the evening with friends on Feb. 26, 2022.

Arnold had been at a bar and left before its 10 p.m. closing time and was believed to have been heading back to his home in the nearby Poncey-Highland neighborhood.

Ross and Williams were spotted on surveillance cameras following a woman, making unwanted advances on the popular path encircling the city around the same time as Arnold.

Valerie Ross advocates for her son after he was sentenced to life in prison. 11 Alive

Williams is believed to be the one to fire the fatal shot.

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One friend testified during the trial that Williams had admitted to killing Arnold when he tried to steal a car.

“Can’t leave no witnesses because, no face, no case,” the unidentified witness testified.

The “outstanding individual” had spent the evening with friends and was riding his bike on the Beltline home when he was killed, according to 11Alive.

Thomas Arnold was killed on Feb. 26, 2022 on the Atlanta BeltLine. 11 Alive

He was found the next morning suffering from fatal gunshot wounds.

An investigation was launched into the senseless targeted attack and no suspects were arrested until after police released nearby security footage.

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Williams was arrested two weeks after Arnold was discovered.

Ross was captured by US Marshals a week later.

Brandon Williams and Demetrice Ross were spotted walking along the path around the time of the murder. 11 Alive
An investigation was launched into the senseless targeted attack and no suspects were arrested until after police released nearby security footage. 11 Alive

The trial began on April 24 and lasted four days before a jury deliberated for several hours on Wednesday.

Ross and Williams both faced eight charges each.

Demetrice Ross guilty charges

  • Count 1: Malice murder – Guilty
  • Count 2: Felony murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery
  • Count 3: Felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon 
  • Count 5: Criminal attempt to commit armed robbery 
  • Count 6: Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon 
  • Count 7: Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony

Brandon Williams guilty charges

  • Count 1: Malice murder – Guilty
  • Count 2: Felony murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery
  • Count 3: Felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon 
  • Count 4: Felony murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon 
  • Count: 5: Criminal attempt to commit armed robbery
  • Count 6: Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
  • Count 7: Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
  • Count 8: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Both men remained straight-faced and silent as they learned the verdicts, only standing up when court officials handcuffed them before the foreperson was done speaking.

Court officials placed both Ross and Williams in handcuffs before the verdicts were finished being read.

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Demetrice Ross was found guilty of seven of the eight charges he faced. Fulton County Shierffs Office
Brandon Williams was found guilty on all eight charges he faced. Fulton County Shierffs Office

Judge Craig Schwall sentenced the two to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“I have a very difficult job. I’ve been a superior court judge for 20 years and I have probably tried 200 felony jury trials, most of them murder cases,” Schwall said, according to courtroom video. “People say ‘how do you do it? how do you deal with all that sadness?’

“It’s never a happy day in this room,” he said before elaborating on the difficulty with the current murder trial. “This case has really affected me. Two words come to mind, cruel and evil. That’s what we have in this case. There’s no reason we should be here.”

Schwall described the murder as “cold and calculated” calling the murderers as examples of inmates who society should fear and convicted felons who would never show positive change after reform programs.

“These defendants conduct was devoid of morality. It was willful and intentional, without any concern for the value of human life,” he said.

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The jurist, speaking directly to Ross and Williams said their “repugnant and deprave conduct” earned them the fate of perishing in prison.



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Atlanta, GA

Atlanta featured the Kentucky fan base at its finest

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Atlanta featured the Kentucky fan base at its finest


Walking around the streets of downtown Atlanta around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, it looked like a gathering for the largest Kentucky quarter-zip convention in the world. If Nashville brought out all the flannels, Atlanta provided a more Southern sophistication vibe. But no matter what they were wearing, Big Blue Nation was at its finest.

In Nashville against Gonzaga, fans booed when Kentucky didn’t play well. Many debates on how appropriate that was have taken place since, but the booing wasn’t a few inebriated jerks in the corner starting trouble with others joining in out of a mob mentality. The booing in Nashville was organic and flowed from all nooks of the arena. It was the manifestation of frustration from watching Kentucky players fumble around on the court in their souls and let it be known.

When Kentucky’s offense looked once again anemic against St. John’s, fans in Atlanta hung in there. The only booing was directed at the officials for perceived bad calls, not at the players’ inability to score. Kentucky’s effort helped play a part in that, as fans could tell guys were at least trying hard (unlike against Gonzaga). But you could tell the arena accepted this group’s limitations, especially without Jaland Lowe.

So when Lowe made his unbelievable return to the game after what everyone assumed was a season-ending reinjury of his shoulder, there was a palpable shift from fans willing their offensively challenged try-hards to scrape together some points, to maybe just maybe, thinking their team might actually be kind of good.

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The stagnancy that plagued Kentucky in the first half evaporated into motion with drives and cuts that made Kentucky look crisp. When Jayden Quaintence made his debut and looked every bit of the future NBA lottery pick we hoped he would, fans cheered his every move. At its heart, Big Blue Nation is a group of ball-knowers, and the collective appreciation the fans had when Quaintence would make even a routine defensive post play showed just how much fans are still into this team.

The full-throated cheers in the second half made everyone forget the woes of the first half, and most of this season, honestly. It was the first time since the Purdue exhibition that Kentucky fans cheered not just because the ‘Cats were playing well, but because they started to believe in this team again.



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Atlanta, GA

Man shot at Atlanta airport, police say

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Man shot at Atlanta airport, police say


ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A man is injured after a shooting inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, according to Atlanta Police.

The man is alert, conscious, breathing and was transported to the hospital for treatment, according to police.

No other injuries were reported.

Airport operations were not affected, according to police.

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This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.



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Atlanta, GA

Davante Adams Will Not Play Week 17 Versus Atlanta

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Davante Adams Will Not Play Week 17 Versus Atlanta


Davante Adams will now miss a second straight game on December 29th as Sean McVay announced he did not expect Adams to return for the Week 17 Monday Night Football game. Adams is currently battling a hamstring injury. While it is not season ending, it is enough to keep the wide receiver out for the most crucial stretch for fantasy football owners.

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Roll Out The Beautiful Touchdown Stat

If anyone wonders what Adams provides that is so top notch. Check this statline out.

Adams may not play another down in the regular season and could still lead the league in touchdowns. A lot can happen over the next few weeks but anything is possible. Still, 14 touchdowns in 15 games is impressive. That is a big dent in production and hurts fantasy football owners even more.

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What Other Impacts May This Have?

In Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks, the offense ran through Puka Nacua and Colby Parkinson. Nacua was amazing with 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He was targeted 16 times and caught 12 passes from Matthew Stafford. Nacua could be in line for another incredible game against Atlanta. The Falcons have been giving up more passing yards of late and 419 to Carolina in Week 11).

A question mark may be Colby Parkinson. Parkinson was in line to get more looks with Adams out but he only had two receptions for 21 yards on four targets. That was surprising. Stafford and Nacua had tunnel vision. Four players besides Nacua had more than four targets. The likelihood that Stafford throws 49 passes is low against Atlanta. Will they run more than 35 times? That is at least possible.

Never sit Matthew Stafford especially this season. Even in defeat to Seattle, he threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns. It should have been enough for a win and yet this was not. The Rams’ defense and particularly secondary should cause Stafford some pause. He has to wonder what it might take to win from week to week now.

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The one area that did cause the Rams some trouble at times was throwing in the red zone against Seattle. After all, Harrison Mevis did have to attempt four field goals (he made three) in the loss. There were a few times where one wondered gee Adams would have scored on that play. Despite that, Los Angeles did still score 37 points against Seattle.

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Who Should You Stream In Place Of Adams?

Honestly, the good news is with this many days notice, fantasy football owners do not have to scramble quite as feverishly here. Some teams will let off the gas while others want to see what they have with younger players. Simply, options will be out there. Look toward our wide receiver streamer article that comes out during the week.

It is hard to believe but we are almost to the fantasy football finish line. This has been some year and good luck as the fantasy footbal season approaches its end.

More Fantasy On SI:





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