FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – A Georgia man was sentenced to life plus 375 years in prison on Friday for the 2015 shooting spree that resulted in the murder of a police detective.
Detective Terence Green of the Fulton County Police Department was shot and killed by Amanuel Menghesha as the homicidal suspect also took aim at several other officers and deputies in March 2015, Law&Crime reported.
Menghesha, 50, was sentenced to life in prison plus 375 years for the officer’s malice murder, aggravated assault on a peace officer, and over 30 additional offenses associated with the horrific acts of violence during which Green was shot three times.
On the evening of the shooting spree, various Atlanta-area law enforcement agencies responded to calls that a man, possibly intoxicated, was going door-to-door, banging and firing a long-barreled gun. Law enforcement sources described the weapon as an AK-47, WAGA reported.
Green, 48, and another officer were among the first to arrive. The detective suffered a gunshot wound to the head among other places just before 1:00 a.m. He was transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead more than 3 hours later.
Menghesha fired at least 12 rounds at responding law enforcement personnel.
Following Green’s murder, Fulton County Assistant Police Chief Gary Stiles told WXIA News that officers “were trying to do their job, they were trying to protect this neighborhood from someone who was shooting. And they had no other option but to do their job. And the way it appears to me, they were ambushed without warning.”
The assailant was struck by gunfire as officers and deputies engaged in a gun battle. Menghesha was wounded, but survived after being transported to Grady Hospital.
“Detective Green was initially struck in the left upper arm,” Green’s mother, Twanesa Howard, said, WXIA reported. “There was also a hole in his left shoulder and the left side of his head.”
Menghesha’s lengthy sentence handed down by Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick is the result of a negotiated plea agreement in order to avoid trial in which the death penalty would have been sought.
“The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office prosecution of this case and the court’s sentence makes it clear that attacks on our law enforcement officers have no place in our state,” Fulton County Police Chief Keith Meadows said in a statement obtained by WGCL. “Many of our officers worked with and cherished Detective Green during his time with us. Terence’s void will never be filled; however, his family, coworkers, and friends can hopefully gain some closure with this conviction.”
“We want to wrap our arms around Detective Green’s family and pray that they and all officers involved are finally able to find some comfort and healing,” the Fulton County Police Department said in a statement, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Green was a 22-year law enforcement veteran. His parents, an older brother, and his four sons survived him.
