JONES COUNTY, Ga. — A Jones County jury Thursday found three men guilty Of shooting a former friend in his bed.
13WMAZ has been covering this case for nearly five years when someone murdered Donald Marquise Hardwick in his apartment.
Gray police charged Cameron Banks, Justerrious Canty, and Jaqualan Clark.
Thursday afternoon, they were convicted on all counts, nearly a dozen charges each, including murder and felony murder.
District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale calls it "gang retaliation."
He says it started with an argument over a woman and the three men thought Hardwick disrespected their gang, RAM-Bros (stands for 'Running After Millions').
Barksdale says the killers shot Hardwick 24 times in his bed.
Judge Alison Burleson handed down sentences to Hardwick's killers Thursday evening.
Banks was sentenced to life without parole plus 40 years.
Canty was sentenced to life without parole plus 50 years.
Clark was sentenced to life without parole plus 70 years.
Sheriff Butch Reece released a statement on the case Thursday evening that read:
"Today, a jury of Jones countians found the defendants Justerrious Canty, Jaqualan Clark and Camaren Banks guilty of the 2017 home invasion and murder of Marquise Hardwick. This case was unfortunately delayed many years due to the covid pandemic. We are proud of the work put into this case by my department and Gray PD and congratulate our district attorneys office for their hard work. We hope that the family and friends of Marquise are able to find some form of peace with this verdict.
We would also like to remember and honor the late Captain Jimmy Black of the Jones County Sheriff’s Office for all of his hard work on this case. This is for Jimmy."