A Covington man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of robbing and killing a Sandy Springs man, whom he lured through an online dating site three years ago, prosecutors said Monday.
The family of Garcia Danielle Gaddis had sought justice after the truck driver was found shot to death inside his vehicle in Gwinnett County on Oct. 24, 2021, less than three days after he had been reported missing.
On Friday, 23-year-old Mark Antonio White was found guilty on charges of murder and armed robbery in connection with the killing, according to the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office. White was sentenced to life in prison, plus five years, without the possibility of parole.
“We pray that this verdict and the justice it serves provides some solace to this victim’s family and loved ones,” DA Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement. “The defendant took advantage of Mr. Gaddis, and justice has been served.”
Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office
Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office
Gaddis had left home on Oct. 21, 2021, but he wasn’t seen again, according to prosecutors. Family members said they knew something was wrong the next morning when they got a call that he hadn’t shown up for work.
Three days later, a noise complaint led police to a “suspicious” red Dodge Ram 1500 that was parked at the intersection of Pierce Brennan Drive and Tech Center Parkway near Lawrenceville, the DA’s office said. Officers found the 39-year-old inside with a single gunshot wound to his head.
Police said his cellphone, wallet and car keys were missing.
The victim’s sister, Sierra McKinley, previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Gaddis’ roommate saw him doing laundry and setting out his morning work duties on the evening on Oct. 21. Gaddis then received a phone call and immediately left the home, the roommate told the family. That was the last time anyone heard from him.
According to investigators, Gaddis was contacted by White on the Tagged dating app, where they agreed to meet near the Little Suwanee Pointe townhome community. As he approached, White told Gaddis to pick him up near the pool area, the DA’s office said.
“Surveillance cameras showed Gaddis’ truck drive through the neighborhood shortly after 11 p.m., and showed him stop to pick up a Black man with shoulder-length dreadlocks from the parking lot of the pool clubhouse,” prosecutors said. “Minutes after the truck was seen driving toward the entrance to the neighborhood at Tech Center Parkway, the same dreadlocked man was seen walking from the entrance back to the pool clubhouse.”
Three weeks later, the DA’s office said bodycam footage taken from an eviction at a townhome across from the pool showed a man who was “dressed similarly” to the person captured in the surveillance video. Police said they also found a shell casing in Gaddis’ truck that matched three casings fired from a gun during a July 2021 incident in which White was accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend and her mother.
Prosecutors said the mother kept the shell casings until police reached out during Gaddis’ murder investigation.
A warrant was eventually issued for White on June 15, 2022. He was convicted Friday on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to prosecutors.
Gaddis’ family is from Mississippi and they were planning to get together for Thanksgiving in 2021 before the shooting. He moved to Atlanta about six years earlier in hopes of making more money.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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