Atlanta man tried to rob 17-year-old victim, now paralyzed and sentenced to life in prison – WSB-TV Channel 2

GWINNETT COUNTY, Georgia – A Buford man who attempted to rob a then-teenager in 2021 will spend the rest of his life in prison.

On Thursday, a Gwinnett County jury found 20-year-old Jaiden Williams guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, attempted commission of a serious crime and possession of a firearm during the commission of a serious crime in connection with the July 26, 2021, shooting death of 17-year-old Orbit Pough III.

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Williams, who was 17 in 2021, told Pough he wanted to buy a TCH vaping cartridge, but evidence showed Williams had no money on him when he met Pough in the parking lot of the Kroger store in Grayson.

However, according to investigators, he had a weapon with him.

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During the trial, Williams insisted that he and Pough were friends, but prosecutors said the evidence indicated the two did not know each other at all.

Williams told police he was riding in the car with Pough on the way to a drug deal the night he shot him. Williams told investigators he shot Pough when he looked suspicious.

As their investigation continued, police determined that Pough had died from a gunshot wound to the side and from barrel contact marks caused by a close-range gunshot.

Pough also had a gun, but did not draw it until after Williams shot him. Pough died, but he was able to shoot Williams as well, hitting him in the neck and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

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“The victim's family has suffered a tragic loss,” said District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson. “The defendant was only 17 years old when he took the victim's life. This sentence will be a long and hard lesson for him. But we simply cannot tolerate our young people going down such violent paths.”

Williams was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole plus five years probation.

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