At age 14, he killed a man in a Columbus car break-in. Now a judge has decided his fate
The name “Raymond Leon Richmond III” didn’t make the news when Richmond killed a man outside a Columbus nightclub while breaking into the victim’s car.
His identity was withheld because Richmond was only 14, a juvenile under Georgia law, when he shot Samuel Devoid London in a parking lot at the Foxy Lady, a lounge at 3023 Victory Drive.
Police said Richmond was with other teens who went there to steal from cars, and London caught him going through London’s 2019 Jeep Compass around 2 a.m., June 5, 2020. Richmond shot him as they fought over the vehicle, investigators said, and London, 40, died in the hospital about an hour later.
Now Richmond’s 17, legally an adult who pleaded guilty Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter before Judge John Martin, who sentenced him to 30 years in prison with 22 to serve and the rest on probation. Richmond pleaded guilty also to illegally entering an auto and to using a gun to commit a crime.
His public defender, Steve Craft, said psychological evaluations revealed Richmond has an intellectual disability, so he pleaded “guilty but intellectually disabled” to the charges.
The case was assigned to a special prosecutor, Christopher George of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, because District Attorney Stacey Jackson had a conflict of interest, having represented one of Richmond’s codefendants back when Jackson was in private practice.
George wanted Martin to sentence Richmond to the maximum of 30 years in prison, arguing Richmond posed a public safety risk, having armed himself to commit car burglaries with his cohorts.
“What were they going to get?” George asked. “Nothing worth taking a life over.”
Kids and car break-ins
Craft asked Martin to consider Richmond’s age at the time and his disability, which left him vulnerable to bad influences. Richmond’s father repeatedly has been in and out of prison over the years, leaving his son to find other mentors, the attorney said.
Outside court, Craft said the people with whom Richmond associated loosely formed a street gang that used juveniles for car break-ins, because underage offenders typically face lighter penalties in juvenile court. A minor could be given a month in a juvenile detention center for illegally entering a car, Craft said, but an adult could get five years in prison.
Columbus police also have said gangs commonly employ juveniles for certain crimes, and state legislators this year increased penalties for gang members who recruit minors.
Richmond and his alleged accomplices fled after London’s shooting, but left incriminating evidence behind. George said Richmond had wrapped a white T-shirt over his hand to open car doors, so he wouldn’t leave fingerprints. After he fell atop London and fired the pistol as the two struggled, he discarded the T-shirt and the gun as he ran.
On the T-shirt, police found DNA evidence matching Richmond, George said.
‘He helped everyone’
Speaking Wednesday on behalf of London’s family, sister Eunice London said her brother was a joyful man who brightened everyone’s mood.
“His smile was very contagious, and if you were upset, he knew what to say to brighten your day,” she said. “Sam could melt the coldest hearts. He helped everyone as if he were their family.”
He was born with sickle-cell anemia, “and he would suffer severely as a result,” she said, but he did not let that discourage him.
“His faith in the Lord helped him whenever he was sick,” she said. “Whenever you spoke to him, you could hear the joy in his voice. Sam would always be smiling.”
Other suspects
Four other suspects in London’s homicide still face charges of felony murder and entering an auto.
They are:
Cecil Brian Berguin III, 20.
Vic’trez Jaequan Thomas, 20.
Santonio Lamar Williams, 18.
Jyquarious D. Varner, 17.
Like Richmond, Varner was only 14 when the shooting occurred. Williams was 15, at the time, and both Berguin and Thomas were 17, court records show.
