Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady, Jr. announced the conviction and sentencing of Jamaar Bracey in the execution-style revenge killing of Shawn Gray in the parking lot of a hotel in Cobb County.
On September 21 a Cobb County jury found Bracey guilty of charges including malice murder, felony murder aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during commission of a crime.
Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill sentenced him to life without parole plus five years.
A public information release from D.A. Broady’s office described the crime as follows:
Bracey’s charges stemmed from Bracey’s mistaken belief that the victim, Shawn Gray, had some involvement in a drive-by shooting wherein Bracey’s nephew was shot in the neck in North Chicago, IL on January 6, 2021. The jurors heard evidence that Bracey immediately started stalking a group on Facebook whom he believed was responsible solely because they had previously lived at the residence where the shooting occurred. On January 14, 2021, Bracey found a picture which showed that a member of the Facebook group, who happened to be the son of Gray’s girlfriend, was in the Atlanta area, specifically, at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel located at 2829 Overlook Parkway in Cobb County. Unbeknownst to Bracey, Gray and his girlfriend, along with her son, had traveled to Atlanta to celebrate Gray’s girlfriend’s birthday. Thereafter, Bracey tracked, stalked, hunted, and executed the wrong person.
Bracey went to the hotel a total of three times to watch and stalk Gray, on one occasion sitting outside the hotel for ten and a half hours. The evidence also showed that on January 15, 2021, Bracey put a GPS tracker on Gray’s rental car. Bracey tracked Gray’s car for 24 hours. Meanwhile, Bracey texted his sister, Kirby Bracey, and his codefendant, Ashley Davis, about the tracker and his victim’s whereabouts. Around 3:30am on January 17, 2021, Bracey and Davis followed Gray back to the hotel. Bracey ultimately snuck up on Gray and executed him in the parking lot, firing a total of six rounds, four of which struck Gray. Gray tried to run but fell to his death on a rock embankment just outside the hotel. Later that morning, a maintenance man found Gray’s shoes with blood on them and his cell phones. Police were called and around 12:00pm, Gray’s body was discovered. Surveillance video from the hotel was pulled and it was obvious that this was a targeted murder. Officers were able to identify both the suspect vehicle and the driver (Ashley Davis) while on scene. Ashley Davis was taken into custody a few days later. Using social media and geolocation data, Detectives identified Bracey as the shooter. He was arrested in North Carolina in February of 2021.
Among the evidence presented at the trial was a Facebook post Bracey wrote stating, “Hurt me? I’ll let Karma do its job; Hurt my family? I’ll become Karma.”
There was no evidence that Gray was involved in the shooting of Bracey’s nephew.
Ashley Davis, the driver, entered a plea to Felony Murder for his involvement in Gray’s murder on September 10, 2021.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green prosecuted of the case, along with Assistant District Attorney Ryan Piechocinski.
Green stated, “Jamaar Bracey is a real monster. He hunted Shawn like an animal hunts their prey. He followed, stalked, and tracked Shawn for three days before repeatedly pulling the trigger. It was calculated, wanton, and coldblooded. Because of this defendant, Shawn’s children will grow up without their father—and for no reason.”
