ATLANTA — Three gang members pleaded guilty in a 2017 shooting that left a 5-year-old girl paralyzed and seriously injured a 3-year-old boy.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr., announced the guilty pleas of 25-year-old Demetrius Gordon 27-year-old Dewon Love, and 20-year-old Andrevius Welch for their roles in a drive-by shooting which caused the paralysis of a 5-year-old girl and a serious injury to a 3-year-old boy who were both inside of a bouncy house during a birthday party in South Fulton.
Gordon, Love, and Welch pleaded guilty to the entire indictment before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk. Newkirk sentenced Gordon and Love to 35 years in prison to serve 15 years.
Newkirk sentenced Welch to 30 years in prison to serve 15 years.
On April 20, 2017, a large group participated in a birthday party in a cul-de-sac along Buckhurst Drive in South Fulton. A DJ played music, adults cooked food, and children jumped inside of a bouncy castle which was set up in a grassy area inside the cul-de-sac.
As the evening wore on, the bouncy castle began to fill with children from the neighborhood. Prosecutors say, unbeknownst to the children, a number of the adults who attended the festivities were members of an Atlanta criminal street gang.
At 6:20 p.m., 10 to 15 children were inside the bouncy castle when a grey Dodge Journey pulled into a driveway in the cul-de-sac.
According to prosecutors, the Dodge Journey was driven by Andrevius Welch, Demetrius Gordon sat in the passenger seat, and Dewon Love occupied the back seat of the vehicle. After the Dodge Journey pulled into the driveway, several adults from the party approached the vehicle. The defendants inside the Dodge Journey were members of a rival Atlanta criminal street gang to those individuals who attended the birthday party.
According to court reports, as the partygoers approached the vehicle, they realized Gordon had a rifle in his lap. One of the individuals attempted to grab the weapon, at which point, the Dodge Journey backed out of the driveway and Gordon and Love began to fire upon those who were attending the party.
Some of the partygoers returned fire, and during this exchange, a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy who were inside the bouncy house were struck by bullets that came from the Dodge Journey. The 5-year-old girl was shot through the chest and abdomen which caused a vertebral fracture and spinal cord injury. The little girl was permanently paralyzed below her waist. The 3-year-old boy was shot in between the ribs which caused a flesh wound and permanent scarring.
“This must stop. When gang activity means that three and five-year-old children can’t play in a bouncy house celebrating a birthday without fear of serious injury or death, I submit gang activity has gone way beyond what should be tolerated,” said Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.
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