The 14-year-old boy charged in a Gwinnett County pizza delivery driver's March murder is scheduled to stand trial next week.
The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday that the trial for Reginald Lofton, who has been charged as an adult, is set to begin Monday. The 14-year-old is facing charges of murder, felony murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault in connection with the March 1 shooting death of 28-year-old Shane Varnadore.
According to police, Lofton and 21-year-old co-defendant Jermaine Young robbed and shot Varnadore, a Papa John's delivery driver, outside an apartment complex on Lawrenceville's Herrington Road.
During a previous hearing, a detective testified that Lofton and Young had blamed each other for pulling the trigger. The detective also testified that, during the execution of a search warrant at the suspects' apartment, authorities found the murder weapon hidden inside a box of pancake mix.
Investigators also believe that, just hours before the shooting, Lofton and Young posted photos on Facebook that showed them posing with the same weapon used to kill Varnadore.
Those photos were shown in court.
The trial scheduled next week is only for Lofton. It was unclear Thursday if a separate trial had been scheduled for Young.
In March, their alleged victim's mother, Teresa Varnadore, told Channel 2 Action News that her son was "just out there trying to make a living" when he was killed.
"It just doesn’t make any sense," she said at the time. "I know my son. He would have given it to them willingly."
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