![[Valid RSS]](https://web.archive.org/web/20240108205913im_/https://ocgnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/valid-rss-rogers.png "Validate my RSS feed")
DEKALB COUNTY, GA— Asa Seeley, 40, of Atlanta, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of James Morton, Jr., 50, whom he gunned down at a Stone Mountain hotel.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in the case on Nov. 14. Seeley was convicted on Nov. 9 on charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute and Possession of Marijuana, stemming from an incident on Sept. 19, 2021.
Immediately following the conviction, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Shondeana Morris, who presided over the trial, sentenced Seeley to life without parole plus 35 years.
According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a motel on Memorial Drive around 10 p.m. after a call about a person shot. Investigators found the victim, James Morton, Jr., deceased in the hallway with multiple bullet wounds in his back.
A motel employee provided police with surveillance video of the interaction between Morton and Seeley. In the video, Morton was seen walking down the hallway to Seeley’s motel room. Morton shook hands with someone inside the room and began to walk away. Next, the video shows Seeley exit the room and stop Morton.
The two appeared to have a verbal altercation and Seeley pulled out a gun and pointed it at Morton, who was unarmed. Morton tried to back away from Seeley. Less than a minute later, Seeley began shooting at Morton. Morton ran around a corner toward the motel elevator to try and escape, but Seeley followed and fired shots into Morton’s back.
Seeley went back to his room briefly before leaving the motel in a gold Acura.
The next day, officers with the Chamblee Police Department arrested Seely who was wearing the same clothing as he was in the surveillance video. Investigators searched the vehicle and found a rental agreement for the motel room, as well as several plastic bags of drugs.
The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Amy Ferguson with assistance from Senior ADA Elyce Loutzenhiser, DA Investigator Shaun Hector, DA Investigator Julian Brim, and Victim Advocate Jozlyn Varnadoe. Inv. Brim led the initial investigation when he was a detective with the DeKalb County Police Department.