3 Convicted In Alpharetta Murder, Home Invasion

ALPHARETTA, GA — A Fulton County jury has convicted three men on charges related to the 2016 home invasion and murder of an Alpharetta man who was celebrating his birthday.

Michael Dawson, 33, Jamel Gines, 31, and 33-year-old Dontravious Mahone were each convicted on charges of murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, home invasion, armed robbery, burglary, false imprisonment, identify fraud, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, financial transaction card fraud, and possession of a firearm by convicted felon, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.

The trio were convicted of killing Kadarius Medlock, 21, inside his home on Wade Creek Road in Alpharetta in April 2016. According to prosecutors, the plot unfolded when the defendants pulled into Medlock's driveway in a maroon Hyundai Accent around 9:54 a.m. April 21, 2016.

Medlock, who had just finished working long shifts several days in a row, was celebrating his birthday that morning at home "with a much deserved day off," the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said. Mahone posed as a utility worker by wearing a neon safety vest and placing an orange safety cone in Medlock's driveway.

The three men forced themselves into Medlock's home, and bound the victim's hands while they rummaged through the residence. While the men were leaving, they fired two shots at Medlock, one of which struck him in the back of the head.

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Alpharetta police arrived to find Medlock dead inside the home, and the only thing left at the scene was the traffic cone. An Alpharetta detective researched the cone, and learned it was purchased at a hardware store in the area. The detective obtained surveillance footage showing Gines and Dawson buying the cone an hour before the homicide. The DA's office also said the cameras caught the two men getting into the Hyundai Accent neighbors said was parked at the murder scene.

Investigators also received cell phone records indicating all three defendants were at the scene at the time of Medlock's murder. Police also learned Mahone rented the vehicle two days before the home invasion and fatal shooting, and a GPS tracking device on the car showed it was in the victim's driveway when he was killed.

Search warrants were executed at the three men's home, and police found a gun, video gaming system, a Gucci scarf and Louis Vuitton duffel bag that were taken from Medlocks' home. Investigators discovered Dawson's fiance also pawned a watch snatched from the crime scene at a shop in Conyers.

The DA's office notes all three suspects have more than a dozen combined prior arrests. Mahone has four priors, and was convicted of theft of firearms, interference with commerce by threats of violence and use of firearm during crime charges in 2005. Dawson has nine prior arrests, including a cruelty to children conviction in 2008. Gines has racked up three arrests, and was convicted of identity theft in 2014 and a federal armed bank robbery.

Mahone, Dawson, and Gines will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17.

Photo: from left to right are Michael Dawson, Dontravious Mahone and Jamel Gines. Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office