Court upholds conviction in 2020 murder of Augusta fast-food worker

Kendrick Green

Date: October 02, 2025

The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld the felony murder conviction of Kendrick Tymond Green, one of three men found guilty of killing Donnell Graham on March 10, 2020, as he left work at the Popeye’s by Daniel Village.

Graham, 27, and Kenneth Green Jr., no relation, had a child with the same woman. Recently released from prison, Green Jr. recruited Kendrick Green, 15, and Tor’Jae Tanksley, 16, at Olmstead Homes to assist in killing Graham, prosecutors said at the time.

The defendants were tried together and a Richmond County jury found Green Jr. guilty of malice murder and Green and Tanksley guilty of felony murder on Oct. 26, 2023. Each was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus five years.

At trial, the defense emphasized the younger defendants’ difference in age from the Green Jr. Prosecutors said the men were local Bloods members.

On appeal, Kendrick Green argued the evidence against him was entirely circumstantial and did not exclude the possibility he had abandoned the plan to kill Graham.

The Supreme Court said the evidence was not wholly circumstantial because the jury had heard direct evidence, from the woman who served as driver, of Green admitting his involvement both before and after the killing.

What to Read Next

The Author

Susan McCord is a veteran journalist and writer who began her career at publications in Asheville, N.C. She spent nearly a decade at newspapers across rural southwest Georgia, then returned to her Augusta hometown for a position at the print daily. She’s a graduate of the Academy of Richmond County and the University of Georgia. Susan is dedicated to transparency and ethics, both in her work and in the beats she covers. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including a Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Fellowship, first place for hard news writing from the Georgia Press Association and the Morris Communications Community Service Award.

Comment Policy

The Augusta Press encourages and welcomes reader comments; however, we request this be done in a respectful manner, and we retain the discretion to determine which comments violate our comment policy. We also reserve the right to hide, remove and/or not allow your comments to be posted.

The types of comments not allowed on our site include:

  • Threats of harm or violence
  • Profanity, obscenity, or vulgarity, including images of or links to such material
  • Racist comments
  • Victim shaming and/or blaming
  • Name calling and/or personal attacks;
  • Comments whose main purpose are to sell a product or promote commercial websites or services;
  • Comments that infringe on copyrights;
  • Spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly on a profile.