Jury gives Marietta man at least 35 years for armed robbery
Jun. 22—A Marietta man was sentenced to at least 35 years in prison for a 2019 armed robbery.
A jury last week found Melvin Eugene Ward, Sr. guilty of armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison plus five years, and will be eligible for parole after 35 years.
On Feb. 27, 2019, Ward asked the hotel manager at the Cumberland Lodge, where he'd been staying, how much money he owed, according to a news release from the Cobb DA's office.
"I don't want to have to do something stupid for it," Ward said, according to the hotel manager.
Later that day, Ward went to a car dealership near the Cumberland Lodge and took a car for a test drive, according to the release. He drove to the Cracker Barrel at 2150 Delk Road and waited in the rear parking lot.
When two women arrived at the Cracker Barrel for lunch, Ward pointed a Taurus .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol at one of the women and demanded her purse, according to the release. He took it from her, knocking her to the ground, and fled to the Cumberland Lodge.
According to the District Attorney's office, video of Ward's arrival and departure from the Cracker Barrel were captured by surveillance cameras, and the Marietta Police Department was able to track Ward to the hotel using the GPS in the victim's phone, which Ward had stolen. After securing a search warrant, police found the victim's property, the beanie Ward wore during the robbery and a pawn ticket with his name and signature in the test drive vehicle.
Assistant District Attorney Tony Norton "credited the verdict to the sound judgement of the jury and the hard work of Marietta Police Department as well as his trial team," according to the release.
The victim was "sad that Mr. Ward squandered his life with his terrible decisions," the release also noted, but "glad she could finally put this ordeal behind her."
