'Death squad' gets life for murdering Target manager
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Three men, known as the “death squad,” were sentenced to life in prison in the brutal murder of Pamela Smith.
Tuesday, Judge Tom Campbell sentenced Jonathan Banks to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. James Sims and James Calhoun will serve life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The trio was found guilty for charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
On November 20, 2013, police said the Smith was shot in the head inside her closet and her home in the Amhurst Subdivision had been burglarized. The 45-year-old died days later. Neighbors and colleagues of Williams, who was a supervisor at Target, raised over $15,000 for information leading to an arrest in her murder.
According to a statement, prosecutors revealed the men were a part of a burglary ring responsible for more than 100 burglaries in South Fulton County and at least one other shooting. The victim in that shooting testified at the trial that she too hid in a closet when she was shot several times, the statement said. She identified Calhoun the person who shot her ten months before William’s death. The woman lived less than 5 miles away from the Amhurst Subdivision