GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A new trial began for three men accused of murdering a beloved high school football coach during an attempted car theft at a QuikTrip gas station in 2022.
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Bradley Coleman, 29, was putting air in his tires when prosecutors say 22-year-old Josiah Hughley shot him in the head during a struggle. Two alleged accomplices, David Booker and Miles Collins, are also charged with murder for allegedly assisting in the attempted theft and getaway.
“This county lost a teacher, a coach, father of a beautiful girl,” Gwinnett County Chief Assistant District Attorney John Melvin told jurors in his opening statement, “all because of a dadgum car.”
Bradley Coleman’s mother, Venetia Coleman, testified that her son’s daughter was only five years old when he was killed.
“He was a loving person, an awesome father,” she said.
The first trial in 2023 ended in a mistrial due to technical legal issues.
“The motion was based on an improper comment by the prosecutor, incorrectly attributing a statement to one of the defendants, implicating himself and a co-defendant,” Superior Court Judge Tamela Adkins wrote after granting a mistrial in October 2023.
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Defense attorneys Lawrence Lewis and Tracy Drake argue prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to convict their clients in the current trial.
“No video will put David Booker at the scene,” attorney Lawrence Lewis told the jury.
Defense attorney Tracy Drake added that prosecutors have “zero evidence about Josiah’s status in a gang or any gang status obtained after the incident.”
However, Melvin said more evidence will be presented, including social media posts, cell phone data, rental car documentation, and DNA from the crime scene allegedly belonging to the shooter.
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