His home had security cameras everywhere. It got him convicted of murder, Ga. prosecutors say | Miami Herald

From the inside, he could monitor nearly everything that happened outside his home. The many cameras encircling his residence amounted to an “elaborate video surveillance system” — allowing Larry Reese, a 39-year-old Atlanta, Georgia, area drug dealer, to guard his property and keep a close eye on visitors’ comings and goings, according to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. But the footage those cameras captured on Aug. 19, 2015, is now sending Reese to prison for life, plus 10 years, prosecutors announced Friday. That’s the day a young mother, Claynesia Ringer, 21, pulled up to Reese’s driveway to buy some marijuana and ended up dead, prosecutors said. Prosecutors aren’t sure why Reese assumed Ringer was an attempted robber, but he did — and he used his .45 caliber handgun to open fire on Ringer, spraying her car with multiple bullets and hitting Ringer in the chest, killing her instantly, prosecutors said. Following the fatal shooting, Reese fled the scene. Help us deliver journalism that makes a difference in our community. Our journalism takes a lot of time, effort, and hard work to produce. If you read and enjoy our journalism, please consider subscribing today. SUBSCRIBE TODAY A neighbor heard a gunshot , went outside, discovered Ringer dead in her car, and quickly called police, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time. The murder happened just 150 feet from Ringer’s own home , her aunt told FOX 5. “How can this happen?” asked the aunt, who requested anonymity, according to FOX 5. “We're not safe anywhere anymore.” It’s what Reese left behind at the home that helped get him convicted: In his basement and attic, police discovered a trove of marijuana, plastic baggies to put the marijuana in and digital scales to measure it, prosecutors said. Even more importantly for prosecutors, Reese had the elaborate at-home video surveillance setup. And when police inspected it, they found footage that captured Reese fatally shooting Ringer, prosecutors said. Following months fleeing law enforcement, Reese finally turned himself in on Feb. 5, 2016, prosecutors said. During the hunt for Reese, police had described the suspect as “capable of doing it again,” WSB-TV reports. Before she was murdered, Ringer had dreams of being a pharmacy technician, and was set to pursue that goal at Atlanta Technical College, according to the prosecutor's office report. The murder also left her then-2-year-old daughter without a mother. “My baby (granddaughter), she has to grow up without her mother, she didn’t deserve to die,” the 2-year-old’s grandmother said, according to Fulton County prosecutors. Prosecutors described Reese as a drug dealer who was “well known to police” in South Fulton County. And that reputation led to a slew of arrests — eight total, three of which were related to illegal drugs, according to prosecutors. Witnessing a crime and reporting it can be just as frightening as being the victim of a crime. Here’s what you should do if you witness illegal activity. Nicole L. Cvetnic A judge in Fulton County handed down the life sentence after finding Reese guilty of murder, felony murder, criminal damage to property and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, prosecutors said. Reese was also convicted of drug and firearms charges. Related stories from Miami Herald Girl helped friend keep up Snapchat ‘streak’ — and found homemade child porn, Texas cops say He collapsed at an ATM. For 20 minutes, bank customers stepped over his dying body.

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