Gas station video captures deadly ambush that ended in a life sentence

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. - A 25-year-old Alabama man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a Troup County jury found him guilty of a fatal 2023 gang-related shooting at a LaGrange gas station, prosecutors announced. 

Dorian Darden gang murder

What we know:

Senior Superior Court Judge Fletcher Sams sentenced Dorian Jaquaylen Malik Darden, also known as "PsyCo," to life in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 40 years. 

A Troup County jury convicted the Lanett, Alabama, resident on Friday after a trial that began Sept. 22. The charges included malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of firearm during commission of a felony, and two counts of violating the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. 

The backstory:

Surveillance footage showed 22-year-old Laderek Tayshun Ferguson buying a drink inside a 76 gas station at 315 New Franklin Road at 11:47 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2023. 

A sedan pulled up moments later, and a male passenger started a argument with Ferguson at the doorway around 11:49 p.m. 

Darden then aimed an AR-style handgun from the rear door and shot Ferguson four times. 

Ferguson returned fire as he fell, hitting Darden in the torso before dying. 

Unanswered details in LaGrange shooting

What we don't know:

Officials have not publicly identified the three other occupants who arrived in the sedan with Darden. Authorities have also not released details regarding whether those individuals face charges in connection with the fatal encounter. 

Rollin 60s gang evidence

What they're saying:

Evidence presented at trial proved Darden was affiliated with the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips gang and killed Ferguson to advance gang purposes and raise his status. While hospitalized for nearly two months after the shooting, Darden posted a screenshot of a rap lyric on social media on Sept. 11, 2023, that read: "Shoot [s***] up in public, [f***] the cameras, them [n*****] had to go." 

"This is another senseless gang-motivated murder in our community," District Attorney John Herbert Cranford Jr. said. "To stop gang activity before it results in shootings and murders, the DA's Office will continue to seek substantial incarceration for gang crimes, like illegal gun possession and drug distribution, committed in our community."