On Saturday, a LaGrange man was convicted of felony murder and numerous other charges in Troup County Superior Court for his role in a failed armed robbery plan in June 2018.

Malcolm Jamal Holloway, 29, was also convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, aggravated assault and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office.

Over the course of the four-day trial, the jury determined that Holloway was the mastermind behind a failed armed robbery attempt on Steeplechase Drive that resulted in the death of 24-year-old Javontay Carr. Coweta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Dustin Hightower

sentenced Holloway to life with the possibility of parole plus 20 years in prison.

“This was a heinous act of violence, totally senseless. One of the things that is particularly egregious about it is they targeted these hard working, law abiding citizens who were on their way home from work, on a dark road,” said Assistant District Attorney Jack Winne. “It’s truly a miracle that we didn’t have innocent life lost, and that it wasn’t a double or triple murder. I’m glad we got justice in this case for the victims and the community.”

The evidence at trial showed that Holloway recruited five other perpetrators from Mississippi — Antony Rashad O’Neal, Anthony Morris Jr., Sellus Culvin, Christopher Jamar Jacobs and Javontay Carr — to participate in an armed robbery of local business owners. Holloway and the others plotted to ambush the victims on their drive home from work, according to the press release.

At 11:51 p.m. on June 27, the victims called 911 to report they were just shot at multiple times on Steeplechase Drive while driving home. As the victims drove up Steeplechase, they saw a dark sedan, with the headlights off and hazard lights flashing, and a male kneeling down at the front of the car, appearing at first to be experiencing car trouble. The victims then noticed other armed men in the woodline, at which time they sped past the ruse and two perpetrators opened fire. The perpetrators shot the victims’ vehicle seven times, but the victims did not sustain any gunshot wounds. As Carr shot at the victims, he ran into the gunfire of a co-conspirator, and he was killed.

According to the press release, although Holloway was not on scene during the murder, he showed the other perpetrators where the victims lived, he watched the victims as they closed their business, he followed the victims home, and he communicated with his co-conspirators as they laid in wait at the ambush location. Because Carr’s death was a direct result of the conspiracy to commit armed robbery and the attempted armed robbery planned by Holloway, Holloway was criminally responsible for Carr’s homicide.

O’Neal, Morris, Jacobs, and Culvin plead guilty prior to trial. Via negotiated plea agreements and in light of their respective degrees of cooperation and culpability, O’Neal was sentenced to 40 years to serve 20 years, Morris 40 years to serve 20, Jacobs 40 to serve 21 and Culvin 40 to serve 12.

Winne credited the LaGrange Police Department for its work in solving the unique and complicated case.

“All the detectives involved in this should be commended. This is an example of extraordinary police work between,” Winne said. “They coordinated the investigation from LaGrange and were in constant communication in Mississippi. They went to Mississippi with the only lead after they determined the deceased was from Mississippi. It really was a remarkable job.”