On a summer evening in Gainesville, Georgia, what began as a planned drug transaction turned into a fatal encounter for 41-year-old Cedric Antonio Huff. On June 5, 2014, Huff arranged to sell a half-pound of marijuana to Leshan Tremiele Tanner, a regular but smaller-scale buyer. The significantly larger quantity of the proposed sale was the first sign that this meeting would be different. Tanner arrived at Huff's West Avenue apartment, but he was not alone. His associate, 27-year-old Rodnie Maurice Stokes, initially waited outside.
The situation inside the apartment quickly escalated. After Tanner entered, Stokes, with his face obscured by a scarf and hat, followed him in. A struggle ensued between Huff and the two men. During the altercation, a single gunshot from a 9mm handgun struck Huff in the upper abdomen. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang and seeing two men flee the scene, one in a white truck and the other on foot with a backpack. Paramedics found Huff collapsed outside his residence and transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. For weeks, Huff fought for his life, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries on June 21, 2014. Before he died, he was able to implicate Tanner in the shooting to his mother.
The investigation into Cedric Huff's death led Gainesville police to identify Leshan Tremiele Tanner and Rodnie Maurice Stokes as the primary suspects. Tanner was arrested on June 22, 2014, and charged with felony murder. A manhunt for Stokes, who was considered armed and dangerous, lasted for over a month. He was eventually apprehended on July 16 in Suwanee by a joint effort of the Gainesville Police and the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force. A search of Huff's apartment after the shooting uncovered 3.5 pounds of marijuana, scales, and bags, confirming the drug-related nature of the incident. Both Tanner and Stokes were indicted on multiple charges, including felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, and attempt to purchase marijuana.
The legal proceedings brought a measure of closure to the case. Rodnie Maurice Stokes pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges, resulting in a 40-year sentence, with 20 years to be served in confinement. Leshan Tremiele Tanner's case went to trial, where prosecutors argued that he had orchestrated the robbery, believing Huff would not report the crime due to the illegal nature of the transaction. In September 2015, a jury found Tanner guilty of felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, and attempt to purchase marijuana. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. During the sentencing, Huff's mother confronted Tanner, expressing the profound and lasting pain his actions had caused not only her family but his own as well.
