After deliberating about three and a half hours Thursday, a jury found Kwadere Barno guilty of murder.
Barno, 35, took the stand in his own defense earlier Thursday, Dec. 8, and told the Richmond County Superior Court that the 56-year-old Tony Sanford and his friend attempted to carjack him and that his friend shot Sanford.
But Assistant District Attorney Deshala Dixon argued to the jury in closing that neither an eyewitness to the shooting nor a Richmond County Sheriff deputy who arrived at the scene within moments of the May 25, 2019, shooting on Meadowbrook Drive saw a second man.
Sanford’s death was the result of Barno’s road rage after Sanford sideswiped Barno’s mother’s BMW. If Barno was the intended victim of a carjacking, would he get out of his vehicle and confront Sanford in his green Cadillac, Dixon asked.
Sanford’s friend with him that evening, Ronnie Martin, told the jury earlier this week that Sanford hadn’t intended to cause the accident, and he offered to fix the BMW. But the man pulled a gun and fired multiple shots into the Cadillac. Sanford tried to flee but crashed into a telephone pole not far from where he stopped.
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This week the jury watched the video recorded from the bodycam of Brent Turner, who was working as a Richmond County Sheriff’s deputy the day of the shooting. He had just responded to a call nearby and heard gunshots. Not seeing who was firing, Turner followed Sanford’s vehicle.
Turner radioed for more help and for an ambulance while applying pressure on the gunshot wound in Sanford’s chest.
“Talk to me, man. Talk to me,” Turner said to Sanford, but Sanford couldn’t.
Turner saw a man run to the BMW and leave the scene. He radio that information, too.
Barno drove the BMW to a nearby hotel where he abandoned the vehicle. Security video captured Barno dropping a handgun into a trashcan. It was the same weapon from which the bullet that killed Sanford was fired.
Barno will be sentenced today. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison because of his prior convictions.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.Â
