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McGhee, Lambeth Plead Not Guilty In Lottery Store Murder, Robbery
December 3, 2012
The Alabama men that allegedly robbed and shot a Davisville lottery store owner last month have entered not guilty pleas.
Malcolm McGhee Jr., 24, and Brent Dewayne Lambeth, 20, are charged with first degree murder and robbery with a firearm for the shooting death of 74-year old Thomas “Tommy” Kroll during a robbery on November 6 at the State Line O’ Yes Lotto on Highway 97.
Both men are currently set for a jury trial to begin in early February. In the meantime, both will remain in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Investigators said McGhee and Lambeth targeted Kroll’s business because they had previous purchased “Spice” there and the duo intended on robbing the store of more of the synthetic marijuana.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
14 Responses to “McGhee, Lambeth Plead Not Guilty In Lottery Store Murder, Robbery”
DLo, you are absolutely correct. Pat Bonifay was the trigger man and Larry Fordham was driving. Larry and the other guy riding along got life in prison and Pat along with the one who planned the event got the death penalty. If you aren’t careful who you hang around with, you could find yourself in a situation just such as this.
@JW. Ride with an outlaw, hang with an outlaw.
Well..1 of them is not guilty of the murder obviously..but which one..it doesn’t take two men to pull the trigger.
No, if they were involved in a felony and someone dies, they are both guilty. Someone driving the getaway car that never opens his door to get out is just as guilty as the one who pulls the trigger. Just ask the kid from the Trout Auto Parts robbery/murder.
If they agreed to rob the store, both of them are guilty of the murder even if only one fired shots.
Right it don’t take two to pull the trigger……Brent is innocent of murdee
Well..1 of them is not guilty of the murder obviously..but which one..it doesn’t take two men to pull the trigger.
That’s right, enjoy your due process…then it will be time to pay…
@Safebear applause your way
I have a friend in Indonesia whose brother was murdered 2 months ago in Singapore. They robbed him of about 25 dollars and then stabbed and shot him. The Singapore police caught the 2 guys the next day – found the bloody knife and the gun. Within 2 weeks they had proved the gun and knife were the weapons who killed him, the finger prints matched both guys. Within 1 month they were tried, convicted and put to death.
I understand there may be screw ups in evidence and there “could” be innocent people in prison but it is just so wrong that when someone is obviously guilty that we take care of them for the rest of their lives – especially when the state and federal governments are needing to trim budgets.
REGARDING:
“If someone is guilty, why NOT plead guilty. ”
The main reason is in hopes of avoiding punishment for the crime. If you admit you murdered someone, you set yourself up for punishment up to and including the death penalty. If you don’t want to suffer for your crimes, it is reasonable to try to avoid that punishment.
There is a good chance the law enforcement officers will mess up the evidence and there won’t be any to hold against you in trial.
There’s a fair chance the prosecution won’t be on the ball and will either fail to convince the jury or will make mistakes which will get a reversal on appeal.
There’s a fair chance someone on the jury will decide to acquit you because of reasons completely unrelated to the facts or because they think CSI-level evidence should have been presented proving your guilt beyond a shadow of a shadow of a shadow of a doubt rather than just beyond a reasonable doubt.
If you drag things out long enough witnesses may die of old age or forget enough details that the defense attorneys can impeach their witness and make them look like the bad guys rather than you.
Admittedly, if you are guilty of murder, the honest thing would be to ‘fess up, but if you were an honest person, you probably wouldn’t have tried to rob someone and wouldn’t have been willing to murder him for your own gratification. (And all that is even assuming you actually ARE guilty, rather than simply falsely accused.)
David for recognizing reasons
Their defense attorneys probably advised them to do that… they may feel the prosecution will have a hard time proving their case. These two men can always change their plea… I have seen it happen the day of the trial several times.
Pleading not guilty has nothing to do with whether they can be found guilty of a lesser offense like manslaughter. All it does is set them on the trial docket – for now. They could always go back and plea guilty in the future. They probably won’t, because it’s rare that the State Attorney’s Office will offer a plea deal on a murder case, so it is in their best interest to make the State prove they did it. Almost everyone pleas not guilty at arraignments, by the way. And there’s no such thing as “obviously not true” when it comes to pleas. Regardless of how we feel about a case, the law can’t be based on our feelings. In order to ensure the rights of the innocent and the Rule of Law, there is an assumption of innocence that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Simple as that.
I had asked myself the same question. If someone is guilty, why NOT plead guilty. With the number of ways one can be convicted of killing someone, does pleading not guilty of “murder” in this case mean they might be convicted of a lesser charge of manslaughter or homicide? Or is murder the fashion of the crime they’ll go to trial for?
Each crime carries its own unique punishment and not all warrant the death penalty.
I can only hope justice prevails.
Seems like to me pleading not guilty to a crime where it is obvious ‘not true’ should be outdated and the money that is spent for a trial could go for prison upkeep. I have never understood why someone who is caught red-handed, with the smoking gun, and is obviously guilty is considered not guilty until it is proven in a court of law. (not saying these boys were caught with a smoking gun) Only lawyers could have made this a law – after all, they had to consider how they were going to make a living when they retired from politics…. An obviously guilty crook knows it’s a roll of the dice, jurors might be napping, and they might be found innocent.
I sincerely hope these guys are found guilty of 1st degree murder.