2 men convicted for deadly Norcross home invasion, attempted marijuana heist

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Two men were convicted by a Gwinnett County jury for killing someone during what officials say was a home in vision and attempted marijuana heist in 2020.

The Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office said Corey Myart and Gabriel Morales were found guilty of murder and aggravated assault for the death of Malik Werts. Myart was also charged with felony home invasion.

According to the DA’s office, Myart and Morales committed a home invasion on Jan. 31, 2020 after learning that Werts’ roommate would sometimes sell marijuana and kept “large amounts of the drug” in the Norcross apartment he shared with Werts.

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Morales and Myart planned to rob him after finding out about the drugs. On the morning of the home invasion incident, as Werts’ roommate was packing a U-Haul truck, he spoke to the two men and gave Myart a cigarette before going back to his apartment.

The DA’s office said that, moments later, Myart and Morales “burst through the entrance of the apartment wielding handguns.” While Morales forced the roommate to the floor, Myart searched the apartment. Then, the DA’s office said the roommate heard gunfire from the room where Werts was.

After, a witness said they saw Morales and Myart run out of the apartment and speed away in a black car, so they called the police.

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According to the DA’s office, “the roommate told investigators that an acquaintance had introduced him to two friends the day before, and one of the friends was Morales. Both friends asked questions about the roommate’s availability of marijuana. Werts’ roommate provided investigators with the number of the man who introduced him to Morales, and then showed a screenshot of an Instagram account with the photo of Morales, and a text message saying Morales was the ‘short gunman.’”

The car was later identified as Myart’s brother’s car. Cobe Myart, the brother, is also charged in connection to the incident and is waiting to go to trial, the DA’s office said.

“Bad deeds have consequences, and this verdict holds to that philosophy,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin Gatson said. “These men must be held accountable for their decisions to attempt an armed robbery that ended with someone dying. We sympathize with Mr. Werts’ family and will continue to seek justice for.”

Both Corey Myart and Gabriel Morales are now awaiting sentencing and face potential life sentences.

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