GWINNETT COUNTY — A Covington man was convicted on Nov. 1 for using an online dating site to lure and commit a fatal robbery against a man from Sandy Springs.
Mark Antonia White, 23, was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a firearm for the October 2021 shooting death of 39-year-old Garcia Danielle Gaddis, according to a news release from the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.
White was sentenced to life in prison plus five years without the possibility of parole.
Gaddis was last seen leaving his home the night of Oct. 21, 2021. The news release stated that after his disappearance, police responded the following Sunday afternoon to a noise complaint and were directed to a Dodge Ram 1500 parked in the Lawrenceville neighborhood near Pierce Brennen Drive and Tech Center Parkway. Inside the vehicle they found Gaddis with a single gunshot wound to the head. His cell phone, wallet and car keys were missing.
Inside the cab of the vehicle police found a shell casing that matched three shell casings from a gun fired during an incident on July 19, 2021, in which White was accused of shooting at his ex-girlfriend and her mother. The mother collected the shell casings and kept them until she was contacted by police during the investigation of Gaddis’ murder.
According to the DA’s office, investigators found that the night Gaddis was last seen he had been contacted on the Tagged dating app by White. During the online exchange between the two, Gaddis agreed to meet White near the Little Suwanee Pointe neighborhood.
Surveillance cameras showed Gaddis’ truck driving through the neighborhood shortly after 11 p.m. and picking up a man at the parking lot near the pool clubhouse. Minutes after the truck was seen leaving the neighborhood and driving back to the entrance at Tech Center Parkway, the man was seen walking from the entrance back to the pool clubhouse.
Several weeks later, police body camera footage from an eviction at a townhouse across the pool captured a man dressed similar to the figure captured in the video the night of Gaddis’ murder and was determined to be White.
An arrest warrant for White was issued and he was apprehended in June 2022.
Gwinnett managing assistant District Attorney Michele Sims and assistant District Attorney Diamond Johnson prosecuted the case. They were assisted by DA’s Investigator Christina Newman and victim witness advocate Karen McKinlay.
Gwinnett County Police Department Sgt. Jorstad was instrumental in closing the case, according to the news release.
“We pray that this verdict and the justice it serves provides some solace to this victim's family and loved ones,” said Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson in the release. “The defendant took advantage of Mr. Gaddis and justice has been served.”
