(Lawrenceville, Ga., 6/26/25) – Three Memphis men were convicted on murder charges for the death of a Lawrenceville drug dealer after a 2021 drug robbery attempt gone wrong.

A Gwinnett County jury found Emarion Boyland, 20, Jamar Quarles, 23, and Theus Hopson, 19, guilty of two counts of felony murder, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery and aggravated assault for the July 2021, shooting death of 29-year-old Kapri Kadeem Ward. Quarles and Hopson also were found guilty of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Quarles and Hopson were each sentenced to life in prison plus five years on probation. Boyland was sentenced to life in prison.

“This victim’s death was senseless, and we grieve with his family,” District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “These defendants crossed three state lines to satisfy their greed and took a life in the process. We hope that the guilty verdicts and sentences serve as justice and closure for the family and loved ones of the deceased victim.

Boyland included his then-15-year-old younger brother Hopson in a plan to rob Ward, who was known to sell marijuana. The two brothers and Quarles came to Georgia from Memphis, Tenn., to enact their robbery scheme. On July 1, 2021, they joined driver Aaron Rakir Todd, 23, to wait for Ward to arrive at his apartment. Todd faces murder, aggravated assault and armed robbery charges.

Todd waited in his vehicle while his co-defendants followed Ward up the stairs to his apartment. Gunfire was exchanged between the victim and the trio of armed robbers, and Ward was fatally shot in the chest. Quarles also was shot during the altercation. Quarles, Boyland, and Todd fled the scene, and police arrived to find Ward dead and Quarles suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers took Quarles to the hospital, unaware that he was a suspect, but he left and returned to Tennessee before investigators could question him.

During trial, jurors were presented with evidence that implicated Boyland, Quarles and Hopson.

Gwinnett DA’s Drug and Gang Task Force Assistant District Attorney David Ian and DGTF Managing Assistant District Attorney Ryan Smith prosecuted the case with assistance from DGTF Investigator Yayoi Huggins and Victim Witness Advocate Trina Bradford. The Gwinnett County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms were invaluable in helping to prosecute this case.