Bryan Omar Cruz, 19, the fourth and final co-defendant charged in the July 7, 2019, murder of Hall County Sheriff’s Deputy Blane Dixon, was sentenced in Hall County Superior Court Friday.
According to Lee Darragh, district attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, Superior Court Judge Jason Deal sentenced Cruz to 20 years total, 17 of which in prison.
Once Cruz is given probation, he will be screened for drugs and alcohol on a random basis and he cannot have any weapons.
Cruz pleaded guilty to aggravated assault against a peace officer and conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary in the case. A malice murder charge and the felony murder charge against Cruz were both dropped by the prosecution.
Hector Garcia Solis, Edgar Velazquez and London Clements, the other three co-defendants in the case, were all sentenced to life in prison on July 8. Velazquez and Clements were given the possibility of parole.
Cruz’s case was severed from the other co-defendants earlier in the summer, leading to Cruz’s testimony against the other co-defendants during the Dixon trial on June 24.
Cruz said he took to the stand with the aim of "telling the truth," claiming that he was hiding under a nearby shed when Garcia-Solis shot and fatally wounded Dixon.
