‘Anthony is not here to protect him’: Families react as Peachtree Mall killers sentenced

Anthony Meredith’s little girl will grow up without her father, who was murdered.

Tekoa Chantrell Young’s little boy will grow up without his father, who was murdered, and without his mother, who will serve at least 30 years in prison for Meredith’s murder.

Lawyers and witnesses said these were among the lasting effects of a cycle of violence that culminated Tuesday in the sentencing of three Crips gangsters convicted of fatally shooting Meredith at Columbus’ Peachtree Mall on March 26, 2016.

A jury on May 3 convicted Young and two others of murder, aggravated assault and violating Georgia’s gang-terrorism prevention law.

Life in prison

Judge Frank Jordan Jr. gave a sentence of life without parole Tuesday to Young’s brother, Xzavaien Trevon Jones, 19, who shot Meredith 10 times outside the 3131 Manchester Expressway mall’s food court entrance around 7:30 p.m. the Saturday before Easter 2016.

The judge sentenced Young, 24, to life with the possibility of parole, meaning she will be eligible for release in 30 years.

Jordan sentenced a third defendant, Terell Raquez McFarland, 26, also to life with possible parole.

Prosecutors said Young tracked Meredith at the mall before meeting Jones and McFarland there, and then the three walked together to where Jones gunned Meredith down. They afterward ran back to their cars to flee, with Jones and McFarland nearly causing a collision as they sped from the mall parking lot.

Authorities said the three blamed Meredith for the Nov. 21, 2015, fatal shooting of Young’s boyfriend Christopher Twitty, the father of her child. Meredith and Twitty had a dispute over Meredith’s fronting Twitty about $3,000 worth of marijuana, for which Twitty never paid, investigators said. Twitty also was in the Crips, they said.

During the trial, Meredith’s girlfriend testified that she, Young, Meredith and Twitty all knew each other from Hardaway High School, where Young got to be her “best friend.” McFarland also went to Hardaway, police said.

Meredith’s girlfriend is the mother of his young daughter, who reportedly was 3 years old when her father died. “I’m not the only one who’ll be crying,” the girlfriend testified Young told her after Twitty’s homicide.

Young was right about that.

Fatherless child

“Hearing his daughter cry or ask for him daily tears shreds through my heart,” Meredith’s mother, Shalina Meredith, wrote in a statement to the court, which friend Yvette Spencer read aloud for her. “The loss of a father at such a young age – in the manner in which he passed – will certainly leave a scar on her young life. Her mother and I have to step in and take his place. But we all know there is nothing like a father’s love. She was only able to physically feel that for such a short time.”

Meredith’s violent death shadows a younger brother, too, she wrote: “He is not here to help guide and protect his younger brother, who heard rumors in school that gang members were going to ‘shoot up’ our home. He doesn’t feel safe and Anthony is not here to protect him.”

The mother said she is “emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually drained,” having recently lost a daughter in a car crash: “This was my second family tragedy in the span of three years, and my mother passed in the middle of the trial. ... I would have never imagined that I vacation in the cemetery – but I do – because it brings me closer to my children.”

Before Jordan sentenced Young, her attorney William Kendrick told the judge that her child had lost a father, too, and now the boy would grow up with his mother in prison.

“We just highlighted the fact that our client didn’t have any criminal history, that she has a young son who doesn’t have a father,” Kendrick said after the sentencing.

Jones’ attorney Tim Flournoy also pointed out that his client had no felony criminal history. “He’s very young, judge,” Flournoy told Jordan. “He was just 18 years old when these events took place.”

The attorney blamed Jones’ crime on immaturity, lack of judgment and peer pressure. “He was obviously not the ringleader in this episode,” Flournoy said.

He said also that Meredith was a “willing participant” in a long-running feud and “no stranger to street violence,” adding: “The victim is no innocent bystander.”

Jones mother also spoke on his behalf, saying, “I just ask the court to have mercy on him.” McFarland’s mother asked the same for her son.

A packed room

Jordan’s courtroom on the Government Center’s 10th floor was packed Tuesday, with about a dozen deputies present. Prosecutor Pete Temesgen addressed the court first, telling Jordan that Columbus has about 30 street gangs, the most notable among those the Crips, the Bloods and the Gangster Disciples.

The three defendants were associated with the “Rollin’ Neighborhood 60s,” a subset of the Crips, he said: “This gang is a predatory gang. They commit violent crimes. They may use or sell drugs like crack cocaine, we heard from a gang expert. It’s telling that Mr. McFarland, Ms. Young and Mr. Jones all have open drug cases.”

He said they chose Peachtree Mall as the venue for their vengeance killing. “Propelled by their need for revenge, they butchered Anthony Meredith in cold blood,” he said.

Temesgen sought a sentence of life without parole only for Jones, who he said had shown no remorse for Meredith’s death: “He’s unrepentant, shameless and violent.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2017 at 4:54 PM with the headline "‘Anthony is not here to protect him’: Families react as Peachtree Mall killers sentenced."