On the evening of June 7, 2012, 19-year-old Melvin Vernell III, a male resident of Sandy Springs, Georgia, and an emerging rapper known as 'Lil Phat,' was awaiting the birth of his child at Northside Hospital. As he sat in his car in a parking deck, he was ambushed and fatally shot multiple times. Witnesses reported seeing two men, one tall and one short, fleeing the scene. Vernell was rushed into the hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.
The initial investigation left police searching for a motive and the identities of the suspects who had vanished after the brazen attack.
The investigation into Vernell's death uncovered a complex plot rooted in retaliation over a drug robbery. Authorities revealed that several individuals believed Vernell was responsible for a drug-related theft and orchestrated his murder in response. The breakthrough in the case came with the identification and arrest of five men connected to the crime. The suspects were identified as Deandre Washington, Gary Bradford, Maurice Conner, Decensae White, and Mani Chulpayev. The investigation suggested that White and Bradford hired Washington and Conner for $10,000 to carry out the killing. Chulpayev, who had leased the car to Vernell, was accused of using a GPS tracker to pinpoint Vernell's location at the hospital for the hired gunmen.
Following a thorough investigation by the Sandy Springs Police Department and the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, the suspects faced a range of serious charges, including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and participation in criminal street gang activity. In August 2014, a Fulton County jury convicted three of the men. Deandre Washington, identified as the triggerman, was found guilty of murder and a host of other charges, receiving a sentence of life in prison plus 20 years. Gary Bradford was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role, which included convictions for conspiracy and gang activity. Maurice Conner received a 30-year sentence for his convictions on conspiracy, gang activity, and weapons charges. Another co-defendant, Mani Chulpayev, who was alleged to have ties to Russian organized crime, was scheduled to be tried separately. The outcome of the case against Decensae White was not detailed in the available information.
