A 22-year-old Augusta gang member serving life in prison on a 10-count murder indictment has lost his Georgia Supreme Court appeal for a new trial.
Walker was just 16 when he was indicted for the April 2020 fatal shooting of 21-year-old Antonio Geter.
Geter arranged through Facebook to meet someone who appeared to be selling a gun, according to prosecutors. A friend drove him to the meeting place on San Sebastian Court in Hephzibah. When they arrived, Walker approached the car and reportedly said, "Give it up," and immediately shot Geter.
However, after the Richmond County Sheriff's Office established its Violent Crimes and Gang Unit in 2021, prosecutors uncovered
what they claimed was a crucial tie between the murder and gang activity. Walker was re-indicted with four added criminal street gang terrorism charges.
Walker argued for a new trial, alleging that his lawyer was ineffective; that a gang investigator should not have been allowed to testify as an expert witness; and that the Facebook messages should've been omitted from evidence because they cast Walker in a bad light.
An appeals court concluded that the trial was handled properly and that the evidence against Walker was legally admitted. The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed in a ruling issued Sept. 22.
The case is Jamarius Walker v. the State, No. S26A0732.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Georgia Supreme Court leaves Richmond County murder verdict intact
