Two local teens charged in Joseph McDaniel homicide appear in Floyd County court

Two teenagers appeared in Floyd County Magistrate Court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to charges connected with the shooting death of a former high school classmate from Columbus.

Ricket Damon Carter III, 19, of Columbus, and Troy Jamal Cokley, 19, of Riverdale, Ga., both graduates of St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School, were bound over to Floyd County Superior Court in connection with the Oct. 28 homicide of Joseph McDaniel, a 19-year-old student at Berry College.

Carter and Coakley are facing charges of murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, felony possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime. Both men are being held in the Floyd County Jail without bond.

Columbus attorney Stacey Jackson represents Carter.

Cokley has a bond hearing scheduled this week, and there has not been a bond hearing scheduled for Carter, Jackson said.

The only witness in the hearing that lasted more than an hour and half was Det. Daniel Pendley of the Floyd County Police Department, Jackson said.

The incident occurred around 2:20 a.m. Oct. 28 at an apartment complex on Old Summerville Road where McDaniel lived. Carter and Coakley had traveled to Rome to meet with McDaniel, according to initial reports from the Floyd County Police Department.

Carter and Coakley were arrested later in the day in Columbus.

Floyd County Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson did not return phone messages Thursday afternoon.

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Two local teens charged in Joseph McDaniel homicide appear in Floyd County court."