Man guilty of killing Norcross teen sentenced to life in prison

NORCROSS, Ga. — A Gwinnett County jury has found Jason Dozier guilty of murder.

Dozier is among seven suspects charged in the violent home invasion, robbery and fatal shooting of a 15-year-old in Norcross.

Jurors decided Monday night that they would begin deliberations fresh Tuesday morning.  They started about 9 a.m.

The jury came back with their decision at about 4 p.m., finding Dozier guilty on all eight charges against him. The judge sentenced Dozier to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Dozier was also sentenced to life in prison on the armed robbery charges against him, plus 45 years for the remaining charges, which will be served consecutively.

Gwinnett County prosecutor Mike Morrison said in February 2012, Dozier was with a group of men who planned to ransack and rob the Norcross home, the home of the victim's father, Nicholas Jackson Sr., who was a known drug dealer.

Evidence against Dozier included the height at which multiple bullets rattled through the door of the boy's home. Nicholas Jackson Jr. was cowering behind it when a single bullet struck his chest.

The prosecution and the defense both agree Dozier did not fire the fatal shot. But the prosecution said he's still just as guilty of murder.

"You don't go into Nicholas Jackson's home, a large-scale cocaine trafficker, unless you got muscle," said attorney Morrison.

Defense attorney Andrew Margolis said Dozier's charges don't fit his role.

"He was there possibly to commit a theft, not a murder," Margolis said.

Margolis said, "You cannot allow your sympathy to cause you to compromise your oath as jurors."

WSBTV