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Clayton Police: 11 indicted in 2016 gang-related killings

By Marlon A. Walker
March 29, 2018

About a dozen people from Georgia and Tennessee have been charged in connection with the deaths of an 11-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother shot to death as they slept in a Clayton County home in 2016.

The 54-count indictment includes several charges for murder, cruelty to children and violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.

The deaths of Tatiyana and Daveon Coates may have been due to a missed target, police said. Gang members were looking for another 15-year-old who had stolen weapons from a DeKalb County residence. He had been temporarily staying with the Coates family, but had returned to Chattanooga, Tenn., at the time of the slayings.

Among other arrests, police last week walked DeKalb County fifth-grade teacher Michael De'Sean White out of his school in handcuffs.

About the Author

Marlon A. Walker is an education reporter covering DeKalb County.

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