Georgia man sentenced to life for deadly Valentine's Day shooting of innocent storekeeper
LAGRANGE, Ga. - A Georgia man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the shooting of one person and the murder of an innocent bystander on Valentine's Day.
The deadly shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2020 in the area of Union Street and Ware Street.
That night, officials say 78-year-old Patricia Underwood was closing her business, Pat's Corner Store, when a stray bullet came though the window and struck her in the head, killing her.
Authorities say the bullet was fired by 38-year-old Andreco Darnell Parham of Meriwether County. According to documents providing in court, Parham was trying to shoot another victim who had been involved in a dispute with his family.
When Parham saw the man outside the corner store, officials say he fired six shots, hitting the man once.
Police arrested Parham in a house across the street from the store hours after the shooting. At the time of the murder, Parham was a seven-time convicted felon who had already been arrested for killing another resident of LaGrange 20 years prior. He had also been charged with aggravated stalking, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and more.
"At any point over the last 20 years, Parham could have chosen to stop assaulting others, to stop threatening others, and to stop possessing firearms while being a felon. Yet on February 14, 2020, he again chose to do all of those things," a spokesperson for the District Attorney said.
In court, Parham and his lawyer argued that the shooting was in self-defense and to defend others, which the jury rejected.
Parham was found guilty of felony murder three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and three counts of use of firearm by a convicted felon during the commission of another felony,
He's been sentenced to life without prison without the possibility of parole followed by 45 years in prison.