CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Two men were sentenced to prison after prosecutors said they set up fake marijuana transactions and then robbed two different victims, shooting one of them.
Prosecutors said Eric Elam, 28, of DeKalb County and Troy Fiddes, 20, of Newton County, set up the two transactions in Cherokee County in 2020.
According to the Cherokee County District Attorney, the men robbed one victim at gunpoint at the Walmart on Bells Ferry Road on Feb. 3 and then another man at the Walden Pond Apartments in Acworth on Feb. 9.
During the second robbery, Elam shot the victim in the chest and fled the scene, but the victim survived and was able to assist law enforcement in identifying the suspects, the sheriff’s office said.
Prosecutors said that before the robberies, Elam posted several videos of himself brandishing a handgun on social media.
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Cherokee Sheriff’s Office located the second victim’s blood on Elam’s vehicle and found a cell phone stolen from the first victim inside the vehicle. Prosecutors used additional evidence at trail including phone records documenting the defendants’ movements at the time of the crimes.
“Through the meticulous work of the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with our office, these criminals were brought to justice,” Assistant District Attorney Damion Overstreet, who prosecuted this case on behalf of the State said. “Our office will always carry the torch to ensure that the truth is brought to light and that violent criminals are brought to justice.”
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Due to his previous criminal history, Elam was sentenced as a repeat offender on March 28, 2022, and convicted of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Elam received a life sentence to be served in state prison for the armed robbery and will serve five consecutive years for the charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
On February 8, 2022, Fiddes plead guilty to armed robbery and aggravated assault charges and will serve 20 years, with the first 12 years to be served in prison and the next eight served on probation.
“The jury did a thorough job of considering all the facts of this case, deliberating carefully, and coming to a guilty verdict for Elam,” said District Attorney Shannon Wallace. “Now that both defendants have been sentenced, two dangerous criminals are off the streets and our citizens can rest assured that criminals who target our community to commit acts of violence will be investigated, prosecuted, and sentenced appropriately for their crimes.”
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