Isaiah Bush
A second defendant has been sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for the shooting death of 17-year-old Isaiah Bush in November 2019.
Jermaine Antron Grant Jr. on Monday morning pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Jonia Ice, who was 17 at the time, earlier pleaded guilty and also got 30 years.
Both have been in custody since the incident on Greendale Way in Hixson near Northgate.
Jalaycian Barrow, identified as a friend of Grant, is also charged in the case.
The victim was a student at Hixson High School.
Prosecutor Charles Minor said the plan was for Barrow to be the "muscle man" and knock Bush out from behind after the other two lured him for a supposed drug deal. He said they then were to flee with the drugs and money.
However, he said the incident "did not go as planned."
The prosecutor said Barrow did not knock out Bush, and a struggle broke out. He said Ms. Ice was holding a gun that Grant had brought to the scene.
He said Ms. Ice fired a shot that struck the victim.
Ms. Ice said in texts that she had meant to shoot him in the arm. Prosecutor Minor said, "Sadly, it went into his head."
Prosecutor Minor said the vehicle the robbers were using was almost out of gas and they went across the street to a gas station. He said Grant found that he had left his wallet at the scene of the shooting, and he ran back across the street to get it. All of that was caught on camera, it was stated.
The defendants would have faced at least 51 years in prison if they had been convicted of first-degree murder at a trial.
Courtney Toney, mother of Isaiah Bush, addressed Grant on the witness stand, saying, "It makes me sick to my stomach that you brought a gun to take such a precious life. I miss him every day all day. He didn't deserve to be murdered."
She also said, "I hope you have to fight for your life for the rest of your life like my son did."
The grandmother, Deborah Smith, said, "He was a sweet, loving grandson. Did you even think of all the many lives of family and friends you destroyed?"
Judge Amanda Dunn said, "This case is about making choices without fully realizing the consequences." She said she hopes that others considering such actions would think of the long sentences these two face.