COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County judge has decided the fate of two men involved in a 48-hour robbery crime spree that led to the death of a father after tormenting his family and several other strangers.
Elijah Bailey, 20, and Miguel Romo, 21, were sentenced to life in prison plus 90 and 130 years to serve in confinement on April 26, according to the district attorney's office.
“Cobb County will not tolerate ruthless gun violence. What these young men treated as a game forever changed the lives of five citizens and ended the life of a young father," District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. said. "These sentences ensure that no other member of our community will be terrorized by these men.”
The crime spree started on Jan. 11, 2020, just before midnight. It all started when Baliey and two other men -- Damion Shropshire and Samuel Mallard -- decided to go on a quest to rob random strangers at gunpoint, according to the district attorney's office.
Bailey, Shropshire, and Millard saw a young couple and decided to target them first. They jumped out of their car with masks and guns, put guns to the couple's heads and demanded all that they had, the district attorney said. The men stole a gun from the couple.
After the first robbery, 48 hours later, Romo decided to join the crew, and they went to Hurt Road Park to look for more guns and money, a news release from the office said.
All four of the men then stumbled upon a new father, and they pretended to ask the man for a cigarette while he was watching a game on his phone.
The new father begged for his life, pleading he had a baby; Bailey and Romo then stole the man's car and took everything that he had, according to the district attorney's office.
District Attorney Broady said the victim then ran home in fear the men would retaliate against his family.
Romo, Bailey and the other two men were unsatisfied and decided to go to the Alta Mill apartment complex in Austell, where they attempted to rob 22-year-old Daquan Murphy, a news release from the office added.
When Murphy realized they were trying to rob him and his family, he slammed the door to protect his girlfriend and their 18-month-old daughter, who were asleep in the back bedroom.
Shropshire then fired a shot through the door, which hit Murphy in his back, waking his girlfriend and baby up from the sound of the shot, the district attorney added.
Guns were then pointed at Murphy's girlfriend and baby, who were screaming for their lives. When they didn't find anything of value, they left the home, leaving Murphy to bleed out to death.
“Only a monster can point a gun at an 18-month-old baby,” said Judge Julie Adams Jacobs during sentencing.
After the deadly incident, the group of men did not continue their spree.
Cobb County Police began their investigation the next day and arrested Bailey that day. On Jan. 16, 2020, police identified the shooter, who was already wearing an ankle monitor for a prior armed robbery, and Mallard as the suspects.
Mallard was shot and killed after pulling a gun on officers during his arrest.
The shooter, Shropshire, was arrested without incident. Romo was arrested later that month.
Shropshire accepted responsibility and entered a plea in March of 2023. He was sentenced to life in prison, according to the district attorney's office.
A jury convicted Bailey and Romo of murder, home invasion, attempted armed robbery, armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, hijacking a motor vehicle, and two counts of possession of firearm charges for incidents.