VALDOSTA — A Valdosta man on trial for murder was convicted by a Lowndes County jury Thursday afternoon before being sentenced to life in prison.

Roosevelt Lawrence, 20, was found guilty of one count of murder and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of the murder from an incident that claimed the life of 24 year-old Mason Dwight Harper II.

In December 2006, Lawrence and two other men, Demario Garrison and Justin Hendrix, were indicted by a grand jury. According to a press release submitted by the District Attorney’s office, Garrison pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and Hendrix pled guilty to attempt to possess illegal narcotics. Both agreed to testify against Lawrence in court and are currently awaiting sentencing.

Testimonies from Garrison and Hendrix revealed details of the incident, which occurred June 29, 2006 at around 1:20 a.m. According to testimony, then 18-year-old Lawrence along with the 18-year-old Garrison, of Valdosta and then 17-year-old Hendrix of Hahira, were riding in Hendrix’s Honda Civic when Hendrix set up a drug transaction with the victim, Harper. The transaction was to occur in the front of Hendrix’s former residence in the 1800 block

of Troup Street.

Roosevelt, who was driving the car pulled into the back of the residence. Hendrix left the vehicle, walked around to the front of the residence and got in the rear passenger seat of Harper’s waiting vehicle, which was in the street and was occupied by Harper and his brother, Andrew. Meanwhile, Lawrence and Garrison got out of Hendrix’s car, still parked in the back, and retrieved a 20-gauge and a 12-gauge shotgun from the trunk.

Lawrence and Garrison walked to the front of the residence and to Harper’s vehicle. It was testified that Lawrence placed the 20-gauge

shotgun in the driver’s window and shot Harper in the left side of this head. Garrison, who was about 10 feet behind Lawrence fired the 12-gauge shotgun, which struck the car and the left of Harper’s neck. The two fled.

The vehicle rolled down the street and crashed in the front yard of a residence on Cranford Street. Afterwards, Hendrix exited the vehicle and the three fled the scene. A witness was able to tell the Valdosta Police Department that three black males were involved and they fled in a small white vehicle.

Authorities responded shortly after a call about the incident and emergency services were called when Harper was found unresponsive. Harper was transported to South Georgia Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Approximately an hour after the shooting, Lowndes County Sheriff deputies pulled over a small white vehicle occupied by Garrison and Hendrix. They were both taken into custody and two shotguns were found in the trunk. Valdosta Police Department forensics were able to link the 20-gauge shotgun to the shooting. Lawrence was arrested approximately one week later in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Superior Court Judge Frank D. Horkan, who presided over the trial, immediately sentenced Lawrence after the verdict to life in prison and five years consecutive for the gun charge. Chief Assistant District Attorney Brad Shealy, the prosecuting attorney in this case, stated in a press release that the Valdosta Police Department did an excellent job of investigating the crime scene and developing forensic evidence.

“These types of crimes, doing murders in the middle of our streets with shotguns are obviously very serious and they put everyone at risk, not just the intended victim,” Shealy added. “The jury had a tough job convicting a young man of murder, but they reached the right decision based on the evidence.”

Family members and friends remember the victim, Harper, as an upstanding young man, a model student and citizen, an outstanding friend and a respectful son. Harper would have graduated from Valdosta State University in December 2006 with a degree in marketing, though he had already opened his own business, Platinum Plus Entertaining, which provided marketing and advertising services for functions held by local organizations.