In the summer of 2018, a senseless act of violence cut short the life of Patricia Ann Sabb, a 59-year-old woman in Savannah, Georgia. On the night of July 23rd, police responded to a residence on West 41st Street just before 11 p.m. after a ShotSpotter alert indicated gunfire in the area. There they discovered Patricia Ann Sabb with a life-threatening gunshot wound.
She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, but tragically, she succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation into the homicide revealed a tragic story of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The shooting was not a random act of violence but was instead rooted in a dispute involving Sabb's grandson, Rashamel Edwards. The intended target of the shooting was Edwards, who was involved in a gang-related conflict. Tragically, it was his grandmother, Patricia, who was struck by the bullets fired into her home from a passing car.
Within a week of the fatal shooting, Savannah Police detectives announced the arrests of four individuals in connection with the death of Patricia Sabb. The suspects were identified as 18-year-old Patrick Bryant Nelson, 19-year-old Alex Lee Johnson III, 18-year-old Harvey Zihe J. Cooley, and 19-year-old Marvin Marquan Hayes. All four were served with murder warrants. Two of the suspects, Hayes and Johnson, were also facing armed robbery charges from a separate incident that occurred earlier that month.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, at least one of the suspects was brought to justice for his role in the death of Patricia Sabb. Alex Lee Johnson III was convicted of felony murder, hijacking a vehicle, armed robbery, and other charges. While he was acquitted of malice murder, the jury found him guilty on the other counts, and the court sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the felony murder conviction, along with additional sentences for the other charges. Johnson later appealed his conviction, but the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the trial court's decision.
