WALB.com News, Weather and Sports for Albany, Valdosta and Thomasville. Leading the way for South Georgia. | Toomer found guilty by Dougherty jury
Member Center:
By Jim Wallace - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - A Dougherty County jury convicted a 21-year-old Albany man charged with killing a Lee County man, and throwing his body in the Flint River.
The jury started deliberations in Kasaem Toomer's trial about 2:00 Thursday afternoon and ended about three hours later.
He was sentenced to life in prison for murder. He was also sentenced to five additional years for theft by taking, and three additional years for arson. Toomer plead guilty to arson before the trial began, for setting a fire in the Law Enforcement Center while Police were questioning him.
Prosecutors say Toomer hit 20-year-old Justin Cox in the head at the Turner Boat Landing in October 2007.
With the help of Lorenzo Williams, he threw Cox's body in the River, and drove his Cadillac to the Civic Center and abandoned it.
The defense the jury that Toomer hit Cox, but did not mean to kill him.
After an hour of deliberations, the jury came back into the courtroom for further instructions on what verdict choices they have.
Sentencing will come later.
©2009 WALB News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. Notify us of any inappropriate comments by clicking the “Mark as Offensive” link. You must be at least 13 years of age to post comments. By submitting a comment, you agree to these
Terms of Service
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login or register See all comments |
When news events break, you can be notified! Sign up here!
