BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — While prosecutors presented evidence during the sentencing phase of hearing for Colt Gray, a group showed up in leather vests and jeans with a determination to see justice served.
They’re members of the Mystic Saints, a biker group that formed three days after the nightmare at Apalachee High School. The group wanted to show up to hear Gray plead guilty to all 55 counts against him.
“We just want to be here to support all of the families of the victims, the first responders, the teachers,” said Tara Shipman, a member of the group.
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She told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims that she’s grateful Colt Gray accepted responsibility.
“Well, I want him to get the maximum penalty he can get,” she said. “I mean, the victims in this case didn’t get the chance or opportunity to decide their fate.”
She wants to see the 16-year-old get life in prison with no chance of parole, the maximum sentence.
Vicki Day, another member of the group, said it was tough to sit in court and listen to one teen after another describe the horror of that day and the anguish of losing people they loved.
“It’s very emotional, very emotional,” she said.
Tiffany Brady said her group isn’t attending the hearing in hopes of swaying the judge’s decision on Gray’s fate, but to comfort the victims and their families.
“It’s just to show solidarity that we’re here for them,” she said. “We’re not here for the praise, we’re not here to make a name for ourselves. We’re just here as a shoulder to lean on. And if somebody needs somebody to talk to, that’s what we’re here for.”
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Alanna Schermerhorn Wallace was among those who presented victim impact statements in court. Her 14-year-old brother, Mason Schermerhorn, was among the four people killed at Apalachee. She said she felt an obligation to come fact to face with Gray and let him know the hurt he inflicted on her family and the community.
“I wanted to show up for my family, support my brother,” she said. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t regret not speaking to the person who murdered my brother.”
She said she was scared and shaking at first but felt emboldened toward the end of her statement “where I looked at him in the eyes, I kind of felt that I had the power, like he didn’t control me anymore. And so I said everything I needed to say to him”
But he didn’t return her gaze.
“I’m just a little disappointed that he couldn’t hold eye contact,” she said. “I turned to him to make eye contact, and he looked down.”
Still, she said, she was a voice for her brother and did her part to ensure he gets justice.
“I wanted to make sure I didn’t regret not speaking to the person who murdered my brother,” she said.
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