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Jury impaneled in murder trial
Newton County Judicial Center
Darryl Welch
Published: Oct 16, 2017, 7:56 PM

COVINGTON, Ga. – A jury was selected Monday afternoon to hear the case of the 17-year-old accused of stabbing an 18-year-old man to death last year.

Quran Ali Knighton, who was 16 at the time of the incident, is accused of stabbing and killing Markice Samuel Harris during a fight outside the Wesleyan Subdivision on Boogers Hill Road north of Oxford in May of 2016.

Knighton is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.

It took Assistant District Attorney Candice Branche and defense attorney Jeff Banks just under 90 minutes to pare down 36 potential jurors to the panel of seven men and five women, plus one alternate who will hear the case.

After the jury was seated, Alcovy Judicial Circuit Judge John M. Ott excused them until 9 a.m. Tuesday, when opening arguments will be heard. 
Newton County jury finds Covington man guilty of felony murder
Shane Robinson
Shane Robinson - photo by Courtesy of the Newton County Sheriff's Office
Kate Verity
Published: Mar 31, 2025, 9:15 PM

NEWTON COUNTY – On Monday afternoon, 30-year-old Shane Alexander Robinson of Covington was found guilty of killing Charles Edward Stanley III over three years ago.

The Newton County District Attorney’s Office released that a jury deemed that Robinson was guilty on three charges: Felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

On March 5, 2022, sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight, Robinson shot an AR-style firearm at a vehicle that Stanley was driving along Harvey Wood Drive. According to the District Attorney’s release, Robinson fired the weapon 13 times into the vehicle, killing Stanley.

According to a previous report by The Covington News, an arrest warrant stated that Robinson “grabbed his AR-15 (rifle) and drove” from his home to Harvey Wood Drive to “scare” Stanley.

“When Charles was backing up, Shane admitted to firing several rounds at the vehicle,” the 2022 warrant stated. “Furthermore, Shane also initially stated that he fired rounds at the vehicle as it was driving away.”

Robinson initially faced charges of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, unauthorized discharge of firearms within 50 yards of the public highway, and reckless conduct. It is not clear if some of these charges were dismissed.

Sentencing is set for a later date, which has not been announced. A co-defendant’s case is still pending.