AUGUSTA (WJBF) – The killer responsible for a May 2019 murder of an elderly man was convicted at trial late Wednesday, according to Jared Williams, Augusta District Attorney.

63-year-old Samuel Brown was found guilty of killing 77-year-old Roosevelt “Pop” Bland in May 2019.

D.A. Williams wrote in a release:

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Assistant District Attorney Dre’Kevius Huff tried this case with the assistance of co-counsel Julian Rheams. The two pointed out to the jury the depraved manner of killing this elderly victim. The defendant struck Pop in the head with a cast iron skillet, and then wrapped an electrical cord around his neck 9 times to strangle him. After the murder, he stole Pop’s truck and ditched it in Brunswick before catching a bus to Jacksonville, FL, where he would eventually turn himself in.

The day leading up to the murder, the defendant accompanied Pop to the bank and saw him withdraw money. Late that night, the defendant asked for cash and Pop told him no. After the murder, the defendant used Pop’s money to buy drugs and seek the company of a prostitute. After turning himself into authorities in FL days later, he claimed to have been in a blind rage with lost memory of the events. Four years later, he told a new story at trial. Weeping on the stand and pretending to have love for the victim, the defendant claimed he only killed Pop because Pop pointed a gun at him. The jury saw through this fabrication and selective amnesia, returning a verdict of Guilty on Malice Murder and Felony Murder less than an hour after deliberations began.

“Pop would have turned 81 tomorrow,” said District Attorney Jared T. Williams after the trial. “81 years of wisdom, guidance, and love, all lost to senseless violence. These killings must stop, and we will not stop until they do.”

Jared Williams, D.A.