ATLANTA — An Atlanta gang detective testified in court Monday that investigators used social media posts, wiretaps , ballistics , surveillance and interviews with informants to build the case against seven men charged in the shooting deaths of two 13-year-old boys.
The suspects in the 2024 killings of 13-year-old Lamon Freeman and his friend, 13-year-old Jakody Davis, took their seats inside a Fulton County courtroom for day 3 of a preliminary hearing to determine if there’s sufficient evidence for the men to stand trial. The detective, who works undercover and asked to not be identified, said the accused were members of the Goodfellas criminal gang.
Police said the shootings stemmed from a gang war involving rapper Lil’ Baby. The hip-hop superstar is accused of being affiliated with the rival street gang 4PF.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden reported the detective testified that the two teens were innocent victims, caught in the middle of a gang war that resulted in multiple shootings across Atlanta.
In this particular case, prosecutors claim that the July 2024 murders in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood were in response to rapper Lil’ Baby, who shot a music video in the rival’s area.
The rapper’s attorney has denied any wrongdoing by his client and said they are not in a gang and had nothing to do with the shootings. He told Channel 2 Action News that the claims against his client are complete and total nonsense.
Defense Attorney Brian Tevis, who represents one of the defendants, was pushing back against the detective’s claims in court that his client is in a gang. He criticized her investigation and claimed that just because his client is in a picture with documented gang members, it doesn’t make him a gang member.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
RELATED STORIES:
- Killing of Atlanta teens may have stemmed from earlier violence at Lil Baby music video shoot
- Police say Atlanta rapper’s ‘cowardly’ actions led to innocent teens’ birthday party murders
- ‘This is your life:’ Music artists demand an end to violence following Lil Baby music video shooting
- 2 young brothers went to a birthday party. Now, 2 are dead
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
