Abdulrahman Munye Haji-Sufi and Salih Ahmad Abdi. Courtesy of Office of the District Attorney, Gwinnett Judicial Circuit
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Two Minnesota men accused of coming to Georgia to carry out a gang-related hit have pleaded guilty in a deadly Snellville shooting and been sentenced to decades behind bars.
What we know:
Salih Ahmad Abdi and Abdulrahman Munye Haji-Sufi, both 24, pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Both received 40-year sentences. Abdi was ordered to serve 25 years in prison, while Haji-Sufi will serve 30 years, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office.
"These young men have thrown away their lives," District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. "And their actions were a danger not only to the victims, but to the entire community where this shooting took place."
Deadly shooting in Snellville
The backstory:
The case dates to Jan. 7, 2022, when police were called to a shooting near Summit View Court in Snellville.
Officers found 28-year-old Tewodros "Teddy" Haile dead from a gunshot wound. A second man, 36-year-old Fahmi Omer Ahmed, was shot six times but survived.
Witnesses told investigators that two men dressed in black and wearing black masks opened fire before escaping in a white SUV.
According to prosecutors, Haile had just left a friend's home and was preparing to drive away when the shooting happened. Investigators said he was found with a duffel bag containing marijuana. Police said both victims were armed.
Investigators track suspects from Minnesota to Georgia
The investigation eventually led authorities more than 1,000 miles away to Minneapolis.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents determined the white SUV was a rental and used Flock license plate reader cameras to trace its movements. Investigators identified Abdi and Haji-Sufi as Minneapolis residents.
Minneapolis police identified both men as members of the Somalian Outlawz criminal street gang. According to Gwinnett prosecutors, a gang expert described the pair as paid hitmen used by the organization.
Both men were 19 when the Snellville shooting occurred.
Investigators also linked Abdi and Haji-Sufi to another Georgia shooting in Fayetteville on Jan. 1, 2022, just six days before the deadly attack in Snellville. Authorities said they were also connected to a shooting in San Diego.
Arrested in California
The pair's travels eventually took them to California, where police in Covina arrested them on Feb. 14, 2022.
Prosecutors said they were found in a vehicle containing disassembled gun parts connected to the San Diego shooting.
Investigators also identified the driver of the SUV used in the Snellville shooting as a member of Chicago's Black Disciples street gang. Prosecutors said that person has since died.
The case involved investigators and prosecutors across several jurisdictions, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Snellville and Gwinnett County police departments and Minneapolis police.