Georgia Supreme Court upholds life sentence in 2023 LaGrange gang murder

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. - The Supreme Court of Georgia has unanimously upheld the murder convictions and life-without-parole sentence of a 26-year-old gang member convicted in the execution-style shooting of a man outside a LaGrange motel, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

What we know:

A Troup County Superior Court judge sentenced Lateef Jamil Moreland, also known by street aliases including "L.J.," "Monsta Black 74," "David Black," and "Hatebaby G," to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 95 years in June 2024.

RELATED: Gangster Disciples member found guilty of 2023 murder in LaGrange

A Troup County jury found Moreland guilty on all counts, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and four counts of violating the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act in May 2024. 

The Georgia Supreme Court stated "there was compelling evidence of Moreland’s guilt" in its opinion. 

The backstory:

Evidence presented at trial showed that just before midnight on Jan. 28, 2023, 30-year-old Alan Dale Huguley Jr. was sitting in the driver’s seat of his sedan in the parking lot of the Quality Inn on Jameson Drive in LaGrange, according to the Coweta Judicial District Attorney's Office. 

Two masked gunmen approached the car and fired at least 21 shots into it before fleeing on foot. Huguley was struck 12 times and died from his injuries, the district attorney's office stated. 

Investigators with the LaGrange Police Department obtained convenience store surveillance video recorded earlier that day showing one of the gunmen without a mask. In June 2023, detectives identified Moreland as the unmasked suspect and arrested him in his hometown of Valdosta on June 10, 2023, prosecutors stated. 

Ballistics testing confirmed that a distinctive teal-colored handgun, seized by Valdosta police during an unrelated investigation on May 31, 2023, was one of the weapons fired at the Quality Inn. Investigators also uncovered digital evidence and social media photos showing Moreland posing with that same firearm, prosecutors added. 

Moreland had previously been released from state prison in September 2022 after serving five years for a robbery-by-force conviction in Lowndes County. Prosecutors proved Moreland was affiliated with the Gangster Disciples criminal street gang and carried out the murder to further the gang’s criminal enterprise and elevate his status within the organization.

What we don't know:

Authorities have not yet identified or apprehended the second masked gunman who opened fire alongside Moreland.

"While Moreland’s conviction and its finality represent a measure of justice for Mr. Huguley, his family, and this community, the District Attorney’s Office remains committed to bringing to justice the other individuals who participated in this brazen act of violence," Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford said in a statement.

What you can do:

Anyone with information concerning the identity or whereabouts of the remaining suspects is urged to contact LaGrange Police Department Capt. John Slonaker at 706-883-2643 (jslonaker@lagrangega.org) or Chief Assistant District Attorney Jack Winne at 706-298-3708 (jwinne@pacga.org).