Spa shootings suspect indicted in 2 counties; Fulton to pursue hate crime charges - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Eight weeks after eight people were killed at three metro Atlanta spas, grand juries in both Fulton and Cherokee counties indicted the alleged gunman Tuesday, the district attorney’s offices said.

Fulton prosecutors also plan to seek the death penalty and pursue hate crime charges, according to court filings.

Robert Aaron Long, 22, was indicted on four counts of murder in the March 16 shootings, along with aggravated assault, domestic terrorism and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, the Fulton indictment states.

In Cherokee, Long was also indicted on four counts of murder, criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and criminal damage to property in the first degree.

Following the indictment, Fulton DA Fani Willis filed notice that she is seeking the death penalty — a move that comes a year after she spoke out against capital punishment while running for the office.

Cherokee DA Shannon Wallace said no decision has been made about whether she will also seek the death penalty.

“Last year, I told the voters of Fulton County that I could not imagine a circumstance where I would seek it,” Willis said at a news conference late Tuesday.

The former chief deputy in the Fulton DA’s office, who ousted her former boss Paul Howard, said on the campaign trail that none of the hundreds of murders she had prosecuted were appropriate for the death penalty.

March 17: At a joint news conference, Atlanta police and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office announced Long had been charged with eight counts of murder

Tuesday: A Fulton County grand jury indicted Long on four counts of murder

Fulton DA Fani Willis also filed documents to seek the death penalty and charge Long with hate crimes

Later Tuesday, a Cherokee County grand jury also indicted Long on four counts of murder