FITZGERALD — The Georgia Supreme Court denied a convicted murderer’s appeal Tuesday in a 2016 slaying of a Fitzgerald lottery winner.
Dabrentise Coki Overstreet had been convicted of malice murder in the death of Cragiory Burch Jr. The high court had previously upheld the convictions of Nathaniel Baker and Wayana Malik Jordan, each imprisoned for murder in the same case, court documents said.
On Jan. 18, 2016, Burch, 20, was killed at a residence on Stubbs Avenue in Fitzgerald during a robbery at the residence.
His girlfriend was also in the home at the time of the robbery, and ran for help.
On Jan. 20, 2016, Overstreet and others plotted to rob Burch because Burch had recently won more than $400,000 playing the lottery; Overstreet called Baker and asked Baker to bring him a gun to use in the robbery and also asked Jordan to join him, high court records show.
Burch died from gunshot wounds.
Afterward, Overstreet bragged about shooting Burch in the chest and legs and said that he would kill anyone who said anything; he also told Baker and others in their gang that he had intended to kill Burch’s girlfriend but the gun jammed, the high court said.
In his appeal, Overstreet contended the state’s evidence depended on evidence from two key witnesses who were unreliable and the state’s evidence was not enough to convict him under the state’s Gang Act.
The high court disagreed on both claims, noting that evidence included Overstreet’s own bragging about the shooting and his admission to police that he was a gang member.
Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.
