QUITMAN — The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Brooks County man in a 2009 murder case.

The high court ruled in the case of Derrick Styles, who was convicted in 2011, along with his brother, Michael, in the death of Alberto Lumens, according to court statements released Monday.

The Styles brothers, both of Quitman, each received a life sentence for felony murder, a life sentence for armed robbery, 20 years for burglary, two five-year sentences for possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, all to run consecutively with the life sentences.

According to testimony released by the Southern District Attorney’s office, the robbery was a setup between the Styles brothers and three other participants, Lamar Jones, Essie Hollis and Cornell Stephens.

District Attorney Brad Shealy said all three participants testified at the trial about their involvement. Hollis and Stephens pleaded guilty to robbery; Jones pleaded guilty to armed robbery. Both Stephens and Jones identified Derrick Styles as the shooter.

Derrick Styles reportedly fled to Texas where he was arrested approximately two months after the shooting. Michael Styles turned himself in several days after the incident.

According to testimony, Derrick Styles went into a residence on Monument Church Road, shooting the victim before stealing $4,000 in cash from the victim’s bedroom. Evidence presented at trial showed a single gunshot wound to the center of Lumens’ chest killed him almost instantly.

In the Supreme Court decision, the court stated Derrick Styles believed the trial court erred in allowing an alleged telephone conversation between himself and Hollis to be admitted as evidence. 

He also claimed he had ineffective counsel at trial because his lawyer failed to object to certain statements in the prosecution’s closing remarks. The high court found both arguments to be without merit.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.