DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS WITHOUT PAROLE IN NEGOTIATED GUILTY PLEA FOR ASSAULTING SEPARATE WOMEN HE MET ONLINE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 02, 2022

On November 28, 2022, Qvondre Lawaun McClain pled guilty to three separate felony cases in Carroll County Superior Court and was sentenced by Carroll County Superior Court Judge Dennis Blackmon to an overall sentence of 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole followed by 20 years on probation. In two of the cases, McClain violently assaulted women that he met online. In the third case, he violently assaulted a fellow jail inmate.

In Case No. 21-CR-462, McClain was indicted for Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Criminal Trespass for his actions on March 21, 2021. In Case No. 21-CR-1113, McClain was indicted for Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Sodomy, Aggravated Assaulted, Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, and Kidnapping for his acts on July 25, 2021. In Case No. 22-CR-820, McClain was indicted for the Aggravated Battery of a fellow Carroll County Jail inmate on October 2, 2022. In exchange for his agreement to serve this sentence, the State dismissed the counts of Aggravated Sodomy, Theft by Receiving, and Possession of a Firearm in Case No. 21-CR-1113.

The cases were prosecuted by Senior ADA Robert Peterkin and multiple law enforcement personnel from the Carrollton Police Department (CPD) and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). The evidence regarding the crimes committed against the women McClain met online showed the following:

On March 21, 2021, CPD officers were dispatched to a domestic violence altercation that occurred inside a moving car on Bankhead Highway in Carrollton. Upon arrival, officers located a car in a ditch. The driver of the vehicle advised that she met Qvondre McClain on Facebook and she travelled to Carroll County to meet him. When she drove McClain to get food, they got into an argument during which McClain pulled out a gun and said, “I will kill you.” The victim tried to call a friend but McClain grabbed her phone and smashed it. The victim then attempted to drive out of the parking lot, but McClain grabbed the wheel which caused the vehicle to crash into a ditch. The victim had minor physical injuries and was treated by EMTs.

An independent eyewitness stated that she observed the car wreck and saw McClain flee the scene on foot after throwing a gun into the woods. During the roadside investigation, McClain called the victim and told her to not talk to the police and he would pay for the damage to the vehicle with his tax refund. McClain was apprehended near the scene.

On July 25, 2021, CCSO investigators responded to a local hospital in response to a sexual assault. Investigator Sam Hack interviewed the victim who said she met McClain on an online dating application, and drove to his house in Carroll County. The victim initially consented to intercourse with McClain but McClain became violent when she refused to have intercourse without protection. The victim fled the residence in her vehicle but left her wallet and work uniform at McClain’s residence.

Subsequently, McClain agreed to leave the victim’s belongings in his driveway for her to pick up. When she returned to McClain’s house, he grabbed her by the hair, dragged her into his basement, hit her, put a gun to her head, and made her perform oral sex on him. Investigators observed that the victim’s left eye was partially swollen shut and took photographs of her injuries. A search warrant for McClain’s home revealed a gun which matched the description of the weapon that was pointed at the victim’s head and which had been reported stolen from a home in Douglas County.

Both victims were very satisfied with the trial court’s sentence and the victim in the kidnapping case presented a powerful victim statement, which is attached to this press release, for Judge Blackmon’s consideration. Our community and the women in it are safer as a result of this prosecution and sentence.

JOHN HERBERT CRANFORD, JR.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COWETA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT