Georgia Man Convicted of MURDER and GANG-RELATED CRIME in LaGrange Shooting
The District Attorney’s Office for the Coweta Judicial Circuit announced on social media that a man accused of another man’s murder was found guilty on many charges after evidence proved the victim was slain so the suspect could acquire status with the Gangster Disciples.
According to the DA’s Office, 24-year-old Lateef Jamil Moreland, nicknamed “Mosta Black 74,” of Valdosta, Georgia, was convicted on May 17 of the following charges:
- Malice Murder
- Felony murder
- Aggravated assault using a dangerous weapon
- Possession of a gun by a convicted felon
- Possession of a firearm in the commission of a criminal
- Four violations of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
During Moreland’s trial, the DA’s Office stated that just before midnight on Jan. 28, 2023, 30-year-old Alan Hugley Jr. sat in the driver’s seat of his vehicle in the parking lot of the Quality Inn on Jameson Drive in LaGrange.
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Hugley Jr. was sitting in his car when two masked shooters approached him, fired at least 21 shots into the vehicle, then fled the scene. Hugley Jr. suffered 12 gunshot wounds. According to the DA’s Office, evidence also showed that Moreland was affiliated with the Gangster Disciples and that Hugley Jr.’s murder was motivated by the gang’s desire to elevate Moreland’s prominence within the organization.
Investigators also found surveillance evidence from a convenience shop in LaGrange that shows Moreland wearing the same clothes as one of the two shooters on the day Hugley Jr. was killed. Authorities were unaware of Moreland’s identity when they studied the film, but on June 10, 2023, law enforcement identified and apprehended him in Valdosta, Georgia.
Later, the GBI crime lab and investigators identified a teal-colored Taurus handgun from the murder scene using ballistics evidence. During the inquiry, officials discovered digital evidence, including social media photographs of Moreland with the Taurus firearm. Moreland was released just over four months before Hugley Jr.’s murder from a five-year jail sentence in Lowndes County for robbery by force on September 19, 2022.
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Following Moreland’s guilty verdict, the District Attorney’s Office issued the following statement:
This is another tragic reminder that gang violence remains present in our community. The District Attorney’s Office remains committed to seeking substantial prison sentences for gang crime.