Brannon gets life without parole in trial

The Eatonton man who has been on trial for murder this week was sentenced by Judge Katherine Lumsden to serve life in prison without parole after a jury found him guilty Thursday.

The jury found Stewart Calvert Brannon, 23, guilty of two counts of felony murder, murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault in relation to the shooting death of Mario Smith, said a release.

Smith was killed on Aug. 23, 2008, by co-defendant Joshua Rounsoville after he and Brannon went to Warner Robins to inquire about the 1987 Monte Carlo Smith was selling.

A release from the District Attorney’s Office states, “Rounsoville shot Smith in the head with a 9 mm pistol, stole his car, and left him dead in a storage unit off of Watson Boulevard. Brannon followed Rounsoville back to Eatonton, where Smith’s car was later stripped and abandoned.”

Rounsoville, who testified that Brannon was involved, was sentenced to life without parole after he pled guilty to shooting Smith.

Thirteen days prior to Smith’s murder, the both men were involved in another shooting in Forsyth that also involved a car.

“Both times Brannon was the driver and the lookout,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Dan Bibler told the jury during the opening statements of the trial.

According to the release, Brannon and Rounsoville have been found guilty of the shooting in Forsyth and have been sentenced.

“Even though Brannon was not the trigger man, he is equally responsible for the senseless death of Mario Smith. But for him taking Rounsoville with him to Warner Robins, this murder would never have happened. And the fact that the two of them did this 13 days before shows that this was a criminal plan. I commend the work of Det. Mark Wright and the Warner Robins Police Department as well as the cooperation and assistance from the law enforcement agencies in Monroe and Putnam counties. The people of Houston County cannot and do not tolerate this senseless waste of life,” stated District Attorney George Hartwig in a release.

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