FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2023
On December 4 and 5, 2023, in the Superior Court of Coweta County, Justin Cayne Ramsey, a/k/a: “ATL,” now 24 years old, of Locust Grove, William Autrey Tyree, a/k/a: “Chevy,” now 35, of Newnan, Kyle Ray Conley, a/k/a: “Chi Town,” now 40, of Augusta, Aubrie Leigh Brown, a/k/a: “Bri 7,” now 29, of Austell, and Spencer Todd Wix, now 31, of Villa Rica, were sentenced in accordance with negotiated plea agreements after pleading guilty to various charges stemming from the February 11, 2020 home invasion on Bethlehem Church Road that resulted in the killing of Haley Adams, who was 14.
Ramsey pleaded guilty to fifteen charges, including Felony Murder, violations of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, and Home Invasion in the First Degree, among other charges, and was sentenced to serve life in prison, with the possibility of parole. As a result, under Georgia law, Ramsey will be required to serve at least 30 years in prison, prior to being eligible for consideration for release on parole. Tyree pleaded guilty to violating the Street Gang Act, Aggravated Assault, and False Imprisonment, among other charges, and was sentenced to 60 years with the first 35 years to be served in prison without parole. Brown pleaded guilty to violating the Street Gang Act, Voluntary Manslaughter, and Home Invasion in the First Degree, among other charges, and was sentenced to serve 50 years with the first 30 years to be served in prison. Conley pleaded guilty to violating the Street Gang Act, Voluntary Manslaughter, and Home Invasion in the First Degree, among other charges, and was sentenced to serve 40 years with the first 25 years to be served in prison. Wix pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter and Home Invasion in the First Degree, among other charges, and was sentenced to serve 40 years with the first 25 years to be served in prison.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Jep Bendinger, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jack Winne, and D.A. Investigator Ryan Foles prosecuted the case. The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation.
In short, the evidence at trial would have shown the following: Around 9:00 pm, on February 11, 2020, on the directive of Tyree, who at the time was a high-ranking member of the Ghostface Gangsters criminal street gang, Ramsey, Conley, Brown, and Wix went to a residence on Bethlehem Church Road to commit an armed home invasion, targeting the man who lived there, against whom Tyree had a personal vendetta. Ramsey, Conley, and Brown were members of the gang; Wix, Brown’s brother, was not a gang member but knowingly associated with members of the gang. Tyree ordered the other four to scare the man and rough him up, and told them they could steal firearms that Tyree knew to be in the residence. Ramsey was armed with an AK-47-style rifle, Conley and Wix were armed with handguns, and Brown carried bags into the residence for the purpose of carrying out stolen guns.
After tormenting Haley’s mother at gunpoint, once the four perpetrators realized the man was not present, they abandoned the robbery plan and began to flee. As they ran outside, Haley, who had been hiding in her room during the invasion, retrieved a BB pistol and chased after the intruders. As she was on the front porch with the BB gun in hand, Ramsey opened fire at her, striking her once in the back, a wound to which she ultimately succumbed later that night.
The Ghostface Gangsters criminal street gang, which derives its name from the fact that it is predominately comprised of white persons, originated from the Cobb County Jail in the early 2000s, grew as a prison gang from there, and has evolved into a statewide street gang, whose primary activities include drug trafficking and violent crimes in furtherance of the gang’s interests. Like many other criminal street gangs, the Ghostface Gangsters have formalized structure, rules, and doctrine. Over the last several years, Ghostface Gangsters have been successfully prosecuted under the Street Gang Act in jurisdictions throughout Georgia. The evidence would have shown that Tyree used his status as a high-ranking Ghostface Gangster to procure violent offenders to carry out his violent plan. Motivated by their desire to participate in the gang’s criminal endeavors and to meet the expectations placed upon members by the gang Ramsey, Conley, and Brown willingly agreed to participate in the armed home invasion. Wix participated due to his association with Brown and Ramsey.
Conley and Wix entered guilty pleas in the April of 2022. Tyree entered his guilty plea in August of 2023. Brown and Ramsey pleaded guilty in late November. Each defendant’s sentencing recommendation was based upon his and her degrees of culpability and cooperation with the State relative to the other defendants.
This case shows the harm that all street gangs do to our community and the devastation they cause to victims and their families. The view of the District Attorney’s Office is that street gang members who commit gang crimes should be sent to prison. And if those crimes are violent, they should be sent to prison for decades. While our criminal justice system obviously cannot compensate for the loss of Haley Adams, the District Attorney’s Office is satisfied that justice was done in this case and that our community is safer as a result of these sentences.
JOHN HERBERT CRANFORD, JR.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COWETA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
All Content Copyright © 2020 Coweta Judicial Circuit's District Attorney's Office
.png)
