Georgia teen found guilty of murdering baby in stroller

GlobalPost

A Georgia teenager was found guilty of murder for killing a 13-month-old baby who was being pushed in his stroller by his mother.

De'Marquise Elkins, 18, was found guilty of 11 counts, including two counts of felony murder and one count of malice murder for killing young Antonio Santiago in Brunswick, Ga in March.

Elkins was 17 at the time of the shooting and was not eligible for the death penalty. He faces life in prison.

Antonio's mother, Sherry West, testified that she was walking home pushing her son in a stroller when Elkins approached them and demanded money.

West testified that when she told Elkins she didn't have any money, the teenager took out a gun and shot her in the leg and the baby between the eyes.

A 15-year-old suspected accomplice, Dominique Lang, is scheduled to go on trial at a later date. Lang was a key witness for the prosecution in Elkins' trial.

Elkins' mother, Karimah Elkins, was also found guilty of evidence tampering. She was acquitted of lying to police.

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During the trial, the defense criticized the Brunswick and Glynn County police and tried to prove that the prosecution's witness was unreliable.

“We have our arrest. We finished in 25 hours. We’re done,” defense co-counsel Jonathan Lockwood said of the police investigating the shooting.

“Everything they did after that was made to sugarcoat it.”

Police said that Argie Brooks, the man who first identified De'Marquise Elkins, was "frothing at the mouth" and asked for money.

He was later paid $1,000 for the tip, which the prosecution argued proves that police considered the information reliable.

“You don’t pay $1,000 for bad information,” Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson told jurors.

The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Elkins guilty.

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