A Georgia teen who smirked as he was arrested for murdering a 14-year-old outside a heated high school football showdown was sentenced to life behind bars more than two years after the slaying.
Kaomarion Kendrick was found guilty of felony murder and three RICO counts last week in connection with the September 2023 shooting of Emmanuel Dorsey outside Griffin Memorial Stadium at Griffin High School, WSBTV reported.
Kendrick, just 17 at the time, killed Dorsey during a brawl that erupted between “two rival cliques” as fans poured out after a highly anticipated rivalry football game between Griffin and Spalding high schools.
In the middle of the chaos, Kendrick flashed a gun, sending Dorsey and others scrambling for their lives, 11 Alive reported.
Dorsey was struck in the neck and face as he ran for safety.
Although both boys attended Griffin High School — about an hour outside of Downtown Atlanta — and were not gang members, the groups they were hanging around with had been rival gangs, police said.
Kendrick spent eight days on the run before he was tracked down sitting in his car in the driveway of a home in neighboring Henry County.
The teen killer displayed a menacing grin while he was hauled away in handcuffs to a Spalding County Sheriff’s squad car, a chilling arrest photo shows.
Police found Kendrick armed with a Glock modified with a full-auto switch, turning it into a rapid-fire weapon at the time of his arrest, according to 11 Alive.
Following his capture, acting District Attorney David Studdard said he hoped the arrest would bring a shred of comfort to the victim’s family.
“I am incredibly proud of our office for bringing justice to this defendant and perhaps some degree of closure and comfort for Mr. Dorsey’s family,” Studdard said.
“My personal message is that my office will relentlessly pursue those who commit violent crimes in our community and will bring them to justice.”
At last week’s sentencing, Kendrick was given life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus another 85 years, WSBTV reported.
Dorsey’s heartbroken mom, Charlotte Williams, said she can finally rest knowing her son’s killer has faced justice, calling the sentencing “fair” — but also expressed sympathy for him.
“My heart just goes out to (Kendrick) because he messed up his entire life by not thinking about what he was doing at the time,” Williams told the Daily Mail. “He’s so young and don’t have no one there for him.”
“Of course, I think about my child, I love my child. But I think about kids and what happens to them,” she added.
Still, the grieving mother said, “It’s best to get people like that off the street.”
“You know, people who think they can just carry a weapon around and not knowing how or when to use it,” she said.
Williams admitted the heartbreak is still unbearable, but said she holds tight to every precious memory she shared with her son.
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