State Supreme Court uphold murder convictions of two local men

November 19, 2020–7:06 a.m.

STAFF REPORTS

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of two Floyd County men convicted in the murder of a convenience store clerk in Chattooga County in January of 2016.

Dylon Allen and Zaykives McCray were found guilty in the shooting death of Chiragkumar Patel during an armed robbery at the Melanie Inn store.

Allen appealed, claiming the trial court erred by admitting evidence of a prior robbery and by allowing McCray’s out of court statements to be used against Allen.

McCray argued the trial court erred by failing to ensure that he understood his right to be present at bench conferences and by failing to instruct the court reporter to transcribe the entirety of the conferences.

The Supreme Court found the claims fell short and affirmed the convictions with all justices concurring.

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