Man Convicted in Shooting Death of Sandy Springs Resident

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A Cobb County jury has convicted a Canton resident in the shooting death of a Sandy Springs man outside a now-defunct bar.

The jury on Friday found Dennis Lee Hampton, 43, guilty in the shooting death of Takilam Terrell, 34, of Sandy Springs, District Attorney Vic Reynolds said.

Hampton was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, one count of aggravated assault and two counts of use of a firearm by a convicted felon during the commission of crime. He was acquitted of a second count of aggravated assault involving a bottle.

The two were strangers, but both were at Milo’s Bar, at 11 Garrison Road in Marietta, in the early morning hours of April 7, 2013.

According to investigators, Terrell was arguing with his girlfriend and as a security guard was quelling that disturbance, Hampton’s cousin, Joseph Ricky Hampton, escalated it. That’s when Dennis Hampton inserted himself in the situation, pulled out a .9mm handgun and fired a shot that hit Terrell, Reynolds’ office said.

“He brought a gun to a fistfight,” Deputy Chief ADA Jesse Evans told jurors. “Dennis Hampton executed Takilam Terrell for no reason.”

Superior Court Judge S. Lark Ingram will sentence Hampton at a later date. He faces life in prison without parole.

Atlanta attorney W. Carter Clayton represented the defendant, who has been held without bond since his arrest two days after the killing.

Marietta Police investigated the case, and the trial began Monday with jury selection.

Charges are still pending against Joseph Ricky Hampton and his wife, Trina Lesley Chatman, in Terrell’s death.

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• Alleged Milo’s Bar Shooter is a Convicted Felon
• City Closes Milo’s Bar, Site of Numerous Killings and Problems
• Marietta Police Seek Milo’s Bar Shooting Suspect
• Man Killed in Marietta Bar Shooting

Photo credit: Patch file