ATLANTA — A man accused of killing a 19-year-old nearly seven years ago fled the Fulton County courthouse before the verdict was read, the district attorney’s office said.
Verlaine Laguerre, 26, disappeared Friday afternoon before jurors convicted him of killing Matthew Hardeman, Fulton district attorney spokesman Chris Hopper said in a news release. A jury also convicted Laguerre’s accomplice, Prentice Baker Jr., of murder.
Laguerre, who was on bond, left the courthouse during a lunch break, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies and the U.S. Marshals Service are leading a search for him.
For now, Laguerre’s whereabouts are unknown.
In October 2011, the two men got into a fight with Hardeman outside his Lakewood Terrace home in southeast Atlanta, Hopper said. When it ended, Laguerre told Hardemen he was coming back with his “red eye,” referring to his gun.
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