Two men charged in connection with the murder of Justin Wayne McKinney and shooting of Anna Franklin have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced.
Kevin Jack Chamaty, 22, and Michael Chase Havard, 22, will both serve prison sentences followed by lengthy probation, Fannin County court records say.
They, along with Stephan Blake Dickey aka Dye, Hunter Nicholas Hill, Dalton Levi Manuel, and Lakota Ricky Cloer, were arrested following the December 4, 2018, shooting off Elrod Lane in Morganton.
Fannin County 911 center received a call at approximately 12:50 that morning from a female reporting she and a male had been shot. When deputies arrived, they found McKinney, 33, dead and Franklin suffering from a gunshot wound.
Warrants were taken out by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the afternoon of the same day, charging Cloer, Dickey and Hill, and then December 6, 2018, charging Manuel in connection with the crimes. All juveniles at the time, they were charged as adults.
Then, on February 7, 2019, warrants were sworn out charging Chamaty and Havard, both 20 at the time.
Before the case was presented to a Fannin County Grand Jury, Cloer pled guilty January 31, 2019, to a three-count felony accusation that included two counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal attempt to commit robbery by intimidation. He was sentenced to 40 years, 15
to be served behind bars and the remaining on probation.
Cloer’s plea agreement stipulated he would testify fully and truthfully against all defendants.
Then, February 21, 2019, a Fannin County Grand Jury returned an 18-count indictment naming the remaining five suspects.
It was to three counts of that indictment Chamaty and Havard entered guilty pleas.
Both pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of tampering with evidence. The aggravated assault charges were in connection with the counts of the indictment associated with the shootings of McKinney and Franklin.
The tampering with evidence charge was outlined in part of the indictment referring only to Chamaty and Havard.
They were accused of taking a .25 caliber handgun believed to have been used in the shooting and throwing it into Lake Nottely.
Reports at the time of the indictment said Chamaty and Havard had also taken fuel to Cloer, who ran out of gas while waiting for Dickey, Hill and Manuel, who were allegedly at the Elrod Lane residence.
Havard entered his guilty plea August 20, 2020, and was sentenced to 20 years with two years to serve and the remainder on probation. He was also fined $5,000 and must perform 240 hours of community service, the records say.
Chamaty entered his guilty plea October 8, 2020, and was sentenced to 20 years with four years to serve and the remainder on probation. He was fined $2,000 and must perform 240 hours of community service. A request to have Chamaty sentenced under first offender statutes was denied.
The remaining counts of the indictment charging Havard and Chamaty were nol prossed.
Both men received consideration for their limited roles in the crime, and Havard because he stepped forward to put himself into the investigation.
Havard and Chamaty both remain free under bonds they posted soon after their arrests and will be sent to prison as soon as the Georgia Department of Corrections has space available.
Cloer is currently serving his sentence in the Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia.
Dickey and Hill are currently in custody in the Fannin County Detention Center.
Meanwhile, Manuel is in custody in an adjoining county. A motion hearing in his case is currently scheduled for October 16, 2020.