On May 17, 2024, a Troup County jury found Lateef Jamil Moreland, also known as “L.J.,” “Monsta Black 74,” “David Black,” and “Hatebaby G,” guilty of multiple charges including Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Possession of Firearm by Convicted Felon, Possession of Firearm during Commission of a Felony, and four violations of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. The trial lasted one week.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Jack Winne. LaGrange Police Department Detectives Darrell Prichard and Jarrod Anderson led the investigation. Coweta Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge N. Markette Baker presided over the trial and will sentence Moreland on June 5, 2024.
Evidence presented at trial showed that just before midnight on January 28, 2023, Alan Dale Huguley Jr., aged 30, was sitting in his sedan in the parking lot of the Quality Inn on Jameson Drive in LaGrange when two masked gunmen approached his vehicle and fired at least twenty-one shots into it before fleeing the scene. Huguley suffered twelve gunshot wounds. The jury concluded that Moreland was associated with the Gangster Disciples criminal street gang and that Huguley's murder was committed to further the gang’s interests and elevate Moreland’s status within the gang.
Surveillance footage from a convenience store in LaGrange showed Moreland without a mask on the day of the murder wearing clothes identical to those worn by one of the shooters. Although investigators did not initially know Moreland's identity, he was identified and arrested on June 10, 2023, in Valdosta. Ballistics evidence linked a distinct teal-colored Taurus handgun seized by Valdosta Police Department on May 31, 2023, to the murder weapon with assistance from the GBI crime lab. Digital evidence from social media showed Moreland possessing this distinctive firearm.
Moreland had been released from prison on September 19, 2022, after serving five years for a Robbery by Force conviction in Lowndes County.
"This is another tragic reminder that gang violence remains present in our community," stated an official from the District Attorney’s Office. "The District Attorney’s Office remains committed to seeking substantial prison sentences for gang crime."