Killer in Schenectady gets 25 years to life in emotional sentencing

George Lloyd III’s father found himself nearly speechless this afternoon. Lloyd’s cousin was not.

Both spoke in court this at the sentencing of Jamel Johnson, convicted in December of the October 2012 ambush killing of George Lloyd III, a 24-year-old Schenectady resident, outside a Hamilton Hill club.

Johnson, who is from Schenectady and Brooklyn, today was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison in the shooting.

Lloyd III’s father, George Lloyd Jr., gave a subdued statement to the court, the father’s emotions evident in his brevity. The victim’s cousin, Dwayne Bates, in his own statement to the court, showed his emotions at the loss of his cousin in the intensity of his words.

Bates called his cousin a good kid. Lloyd had his problems, but he was a good kid. Why Johnson would resort to killing Lloyd, Bates — his remarks growing more pointed — said he couldn’t understand.

“Nobody’s perfect,” Bates said. “But he didn’t deserve to die. It hurts! It hurts! He’s got a family out here, and it hurts!” Bates continued, his volume increasing. “So (expletive) you! You piece of (expletive)!”

“You’re a piece of (expletive)! And that’s from his whole family!” Bates concluded as Judge Michael V. Coccoma calmly intervened.

Coccoma clearly heard both Lloyd’s father and cousin, as well as the entire trial that led a Schenectady County Court jury to convict Johnson, 27, of second-degree murder and other counts.

Coccoma ultimately sentenced Johnson to 25 years to life, the maximum possible sentence.

The jury convicted Johnson in December of killing Lloyd III around 4 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2012. The trial lasted three weeks.

Prosecutor Amy Burock contended at trial that Johnson retaliated for a beating he suffered at the hands of Lloyd and others six weeks earlier. Embarrassed, Johnson plotted revenge, Burock argued.

Johnson exacted that revenge with an ambush and execution, Burock told the jury.

Johnson waited in a dark area near some stairs outside The Mason’s Club bar on Schenectady Street, then fired from close enough to leave a burn on Lloyd’s skin, Burock said. Johnson continued firing after Lloyd fell.

Johnson declined to give a statement himself. His attorney, Frederick Rench, told the court Johnson maintains his innocence and plans an appeal.

Burock emphasized to the court both Johnson’s past and statements of Lloyd’s family.

Johnson, she said, has never contributed anything to society. He had only been free from a prior prison sentence for two months before he killed Lloyd, Burock said.

She also emphasized a portion of Bates’ statement where he described Lloyd making it a point to attend Sunday dinners with family every week.

“Both Mr. Bates and Mr. Lloyd Jr. are not saying Georgie was a perfect person, but he was someone who valued his family, loved his family and maintained contact with them. That is what they’ll miss,” Burock said.

“Jamel Johnson’s actions left a big void in their family.”

Categories: News, Schenectady County