A GEORGIA MAN HAS PLED GUILTY TO CHARGES IN SPA SHOOTINGS IN ORDER TO AVOID THE DEATH PENALTY
" Robert Aaron Long Plead Guilty & Has Been Sentenced To Life In Prison Without Parole In Connection With Four Shooting Deaths In Cherokee County Massage Parlor."
July 27, 2021 By Art Fletcher Reporting For: Englebrook Independent News,
WOODSTOCK, GA.- A Georgia man accused of killing eight people at three Asian-owned massage parlors pled guilty Tuesday and has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for four out of the eight shooting deaths.
Robert Aaron Long, 22, shot and killed four people at Young's Asian Massage near the city of Woodstock in Cherokee County on March 16, 2021. Long then drove South to Atlanta, Police said, where he shot and killed three people at Gold Spa before going to Aromatherapy across street and killing another person.
District Attorney Shannon Wallace said prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty if Long had not plead guilty. She noted all the relatives of the victims prosecutors have been able to contact supported reaching a plea deal in the interest of swift justice, The Associated Press reported.
Long signed a plea deal Tuesday morning admitting to all of charges he had faced in Cherokee County, Prosecutors said. He had been accused of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, and Aggravated Assault. Upon entering the plea, Long was sentenced to Life in Prison without the possibility of Parole.
Wallace said County Investigators had determined that the killings "was not any kind of hate crime" though six of the victims were Asian women. She instead described Long as having been motivated by a sexual addiction, and had a desire to eliminate sources of temptation.
Long has been scheduled to appear in August in Fulton County Court to answer to the four shootings he has been charged with in Atlanta. District Attorney Fani Willis filed notice earlier in March with intent to seek a Hate Crime Enhancement, in addition to the Death Penalty, according to The New York Times.
The State of Georgia enacted a Hate Crime Law in 2020 that allows a jury to determine whether a defendant convicted of an underlying crime was motivated by bias, which carries an additional penalty. But a defendant can't face a stand alone charge of a hate crime under the law.
Long is facing 19 Counts in Fulton County including charges of Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Domestic Terrorism, The Associated Press reported.
FILED UNDER JULY 27, 2021: LAW, NATIONAL: