Two defendants received life-without-parole sentences followed by hundreds of additional years, while defense attorneys pursue post-trial challenges.
ATLANTA — Two men convicted in a Fulton County prosecution tied to a series of murders and shootings have received sentences stretching hundreds of years beyond life in prison, while another defendant was sentenced to decades behind bars, according to prosecutors.
Jeremiah Few was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe to life without parole plus 360 years after convictions connected to a northwest Atlanta gang case. Another defendant identified in the reporting as Israel Byrd received two life-without-parole sentences plus 240 years for crimes that included the killings of Alex Smart and Daren Lamont VanArsdale II. De’adrian Blackwell was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by 45 years of probation for gang-related charges and offenses connected to another shooting.
The sentences follow recent verdicts in a prosecution that Fulton County officials say grew from a series of violent crimes involving young members of a neighborhood gang. Prosecutors linked the defendants to two killings and multiple shootings, including attacks in which two children and a 20-year-old woman were wounded. Five additional alleged gang members still face charges, while two others have accepted plea agreements, prosecutors said.
Deputy District Attorney Amanda Green said Few was convicted in connection with the killing of Smart as well as a shooting at an apartment where children were struck by gunfire. Prosecutors said the intended target was a downstairs apartment, but rounds entered an upstairs unit where a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old were sleeping. Both children were wounded.
Few was also convicted in connection with a separate shooting that wounded a 20-year-old woman inside a home where 10 people were present, according to prosecutors. Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Victoria Hicks said people involved in the gang used powerful firearms, including weapons equipped with devices that can allow semiautomatic firearms to fire automatically.
Prosecutors said social media communications were part of their evidence about the gang and its culture. Green said members used an Instagram group chat and discussed shooting people, including children. Hicks said prosecutors believed committing shootings and other crimes could increase a member’s status within the group.
The case also focused on the deaths of Smart and VanArsdale. Smart’s mother, Deanne Ewing, said the verdicts ended a period of uncertainty for her family, though they could not end her grief. She said her son had enrolled in school and was trying to change the direction of his life while raising a young daughter. Ewing also acknowledged that Smart was still selling marijuana before his death.
VanArsdale was 19 when he died in December 2024. An obituary published by his family said he graduated from Westlake High School in 2024, worked at FedEx and hoped to become a personal trainer working with young people. The prosecution attributed his killing, along with Smart’s, to crimes for which Byrd was convicted.
The lengthy sentences do not end the legal proceedings. Attorney David West, who represents Few, said he has been retained for an appeal and believes there are grounds to seek a new trial. A motion for a new trial has also been filed for Blackwell. The defendant identified as Byrd maintains his innocence and has filed a motion for a new trial, according to the report. WSB-TV used both “Bird” and “Byrd” in its account of that defendant; later references and the description of his post-trial motion used “Byrd.”
The remaining prosecutions are still pending. Fulton County prosecutors said five alleged gang members have yet to have their cases resolved, meaning the broader case will continue even as defendants already convicted begin challenging their verdicts and sentences.
Author note: Last updated September 18, 2026.