Baby Stroller Shooting Suspect Convicted, Could Face Life In Prison

Baby stroller shooting suspect De’Marquis Elkins has been convicted for the murder of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick, Georgia, on the morning of March 21, according to CBS News.

Jurors took approximately two hours on Friday before issuing the guilty verdict. Because the 18-year-old Elkins was a minor at the time of the shooting, he will not be eligible for the death penalty, but could face “up to” life in prison, the news site noted.

Sherry West, the baby’s mother, was walking her son on the morning of the shooting when Elkins and 15-year-old Dominique Lang reportedly approached her, demanding money, which West said in a tearful testimony earlier this week, that she did not have.

West said she was trying to shield her son when the baby stroller shooting occurred. She was shot in the leg, while the child was shot in the face. Lang will face murder charges at a later date.

Karimah Elkins, Elkins’ mother, faced charges of tampering with evidence and was also found guilty, though she was acquitted of lying to police.

According to Elkins’ defense attorney, Jonathan Lockwood, the prosecution’s stable of witnesses had a history of drug use and had “lied repeatedly and changed their stories” during the investigation. Lockwood added that the initial info, which placed police on the trail of De’Marquise Elkins came from a “known crack user,” who gave a different name for the shooter before settling on Elkins.

“You have to look past the dead baby and look at the facts in the case,” Lockwood addressed the jury.

Jackie Johnson, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney, reiterated Lockwood’s plea to “look at the facts,” but added that the defense had presented “theories and speculation,” while the evidence proved guilty.

In the end, jurors agreed.

The Antonio Santiago murder has galvanized both sides of the political fence. Some see more to the murder than Elkins and Lang, while others have wondered why the Left’s outrage was tuned in to the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case while staying silent on this case.

Our own Kim LaCapria weighed in on the topic in July, addressing a thought-provoking meme that made the Internet rounds at about the same time of the Trayvon Martin verdict.

Do you believe jurors made the right call in convicting Elkins for the baby stroller shooting?

[Image via NewsOne]