Jamie Hood found guilty in shooting death of Athens police officer

ATHENS, Ga. — A jury has found Jamie Hood guilty in the shooting death of Athens Clarke County Police Officer Elmer "Buddy" Christian and injuring Officer Tony Howard in 2011.

They also found him guilty of killing suspected drug dealer Omari Wray.

Hood admitted to shooting Christian. He tried to convince the jury that the shootings were justified.

He claimed there was bad blood between himself and Howard from a prior interaction.

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Hood acted as his own attorney in the death penalty case and often appeared frustrated during testimony.

The jury also convicted Hood of robbing Judon Brooks but not of carjacking him.
 
Brooks told Channel 2's Richard Elliot that was OK by him.

"For me, it wasn't about me. I'm here for Omari Wray, my best friend. As long as he was found guilty on that, I don't care about what happened to me. I'm still here," Brooks said.

After the verdict, Elliot spoke with Hood's mother, Azalee Hood, who didn't have too much to say.

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"I'm gonna tell you just like this. All I'm going to say is God's got it all under control. That's it."

Buddy Christian's family was not available for comment Monday.

The jury found Hood not guilty on hostage-taking charges.

Sentencing will begin Wednesday. Hood is expected to present several witnesses to keep him from receiving the death penalty.

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