DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Two men were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in a DeKalb County court Wednesday. A jury recently found Contevious Stepp-McCommons, 20, and Malik Rice, 19m guilty of setting up a bogus Craigslist ad and killing 63-year-old Clarence Gardenhire.
Police said the advertisement featured an iPhone for sale that the suspects used to lure Gardenhire and his son in 2013.
Stepp-McCommons and Rice met Gardenhire and his son at an abandoned house in southeast Atlanta. Police said that during an attempted robbery at the house, the two shot Gardenhire. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
“This was a calculated plot to lure innocent victims to a designated, unsafe area with a goal to rob them upon arrival,” DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said. “However, in the course of their interaction, Stepp-McCommons fatally shot Mr. Gardenhire and fled the scene.”
Police told Channel 2 Action News after the killing that Gardenhire was in town from Florida for the birth of his grandson. He went along to the 11 p.m. meeting on Shadowridge Drive with his son.
During the sentence hearing, his wife gave a tearful victim statement.
“My best friend and life partner was stolen from me without any warning,” Joan Gardenhire said. “I know that this sentence will not bring my husband back. My heart hurts.”
Stepp-McCommons was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole with an additional 35 years to serve. Rice was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole with an additional 55 years to serve. The two were convicted of felony murder, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, criminal attempt to commit a felony and two counts of aggravated assault, court officials said.
“There have been a number of Craigslist incidents throughout the greater Atlanta area that have resulted in deaths,” James said. “I want to strongly caution those utilizing Craigslist and any online site where communication with total strangers, to be mindful of the potential dangers when dealing with various online platforms.”
“We usually don’t do (that kind of purchase) late at night, but my brother was trying to help me get the business off the ground,” Norman Lopez told Channel 2 in 2013.
There have been several incidents this year of criminals using bogus Craigslist ads to lure victims.
Clark-Atlanta University student James Jones Jr., 21, was recently killed in what police say was a robbery of his iPhone in Cobb County. Three young men were arrested.
In January, the bodies of Bud and June Runion were found in woods in rural Telfair County, four days after the Marietta couple went missing when making the 200-mile trip to buy a vintage Mustang featured on a fake Craigslist ad.
Other victims have been trying to sell expensive items ranging from iPhones to pure-bred pets on Craigslist. DeKalb police say a criminal who met victims outside a Stone Mountain house was killed when trying to rob a Winder man of a $2,000 bulldog.
Two Gwinnett County teenagers were arrested early this month after police said they robbed three college students during a Craigslist sale. Police say that robbery of three University of North Georgia students was set up with a fake PlayStation 4 sale at a neighborhood pool in Buford.
Nobody was killed in the robbery. Instead, police say the robbers snatched the money and ran, without handing over the gaming system but a gun was displayed by one bandit, police said.