Lee Marvin Hardeman, a 48-year-old African American man, was shot and killed on the evening of August 17, 2015, in Conyers, Georgia. The incident occurred at the Ashford Brook apartment complex on Rockmont Circle, where Hardeman was found deceased in his truck from multiple gunshot wounds.
Prior to the shooting, Hardeman had been involved in a verbal altercation with at least one other individual. As he was attempting to drive away from the confrontation, a man fired several shots into his vehicle, fatally wounding him. The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office quickly identified two suspects in connection with the killing: Orlando Cornelius Middlebrooks, then 33, and Latres Deandre Peters, then 25.
Investigators believed that Peters had been in the initial argument with Hardeman and that Middlebrooks was the individual who fired the weapon. Authorities indicated that the three men were acquainted and that the shooting was not a random act but likely stemmed from a previous disagreement.
Within days of the shooting, both suspects were apprehended. Latres Deandre Peters was taken into custody and charged with hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal. Orlando Cornelius Middlebrooks was arrested by U.S. Marshals and Rockdale County investigators and faced a charge of murder. Both men were booked into the Rockdale County Jail and were initially held without bond.
There is conflicting information available from one online source regarding the outcome of the legal proceedings. This source states that a 17-year-old was arrested and charged with murder, and was ultimately found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in juvenile court. However, news reports from the time of the incident consistently name the adult suspects, Orlando Cornelius Middlebrooks and Latres Deandre Peters, and detail the charges brought against them. Further information on the trial, conviction, or sentencing of either Middlebrooks or Peters is not available in the search results, nor is there any additional corroboration of a juvenile being convicted in this case.
