The youngest member of the group accused in the murder of Conyers landscaper Timothy Clements pleaded guilty in court and agreed to testify truthfully against her co-defendants.
Katria Luche McClain was just 16 years old when she was arrested and charged as an adult for the murder of 53-year-old Clements. She was originally charged with felony murder and conspiracy to commit murder and was held at the state’s juvenile facility in Sandersville until December when she turned 17. She was then transferred to the Newton County Detention Center.
McClain petitioned the court twice for bond and both times was denied. Her attorney Charles Barrow argued to Newton County Superior Court Judge Horace Johnson that McClain was not present when the actual murder took place, nor was she present when Clements body was dumped in Snapping Shoals Creek nearly a year ago.
Newton County Distinct Attorney Ken Wynne asked the judge to consider the fact that while McClain did not participate in the act itself, she was present the night before the murder took place when the group reportedly planned to tie Clements up and rob him. He also informed the judge that she did flee the state with the group and was picked up in Alabama.
She was charged along with 18-year-old Brittany Michelle Beasley, 18-year-old Christian Perion Caldwell and 23-year-old Pablo Fernando Maldonado. Wynne has said that the state will seek the death penalty against Maldonado for the death of Clements.
As part of a plea bargain, she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder. The maximum time she could serve for that charge is 10 years, according to Wynne.
