Covington man, 23, sentenced to life in fatal online dating trap

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA – A Covington man was convicted on Friday, Nov. 1, for luring a Sandy Springs man into a fatal robbery using an online dating site.

Mark Antonio White, 23, was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for the October 2021 shooting death of 39-year-old Garcia Danielle Gaddis. White was sentenced to life in prison plus five years without the possibility of parole.

“We pray that this verdict and the justice it serves provides some solace to this victim’s family and loved ones,” said Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson. “The defendant took advantage of Mr. Gaddis and justice has been served.” 

Gaddis left his home on the night of Oct. 21, 2021, and was not seen again. Police responding the following Sunday afternoon to a noise complaint were directed to a suspicious Dodge Ram 1500 parked in the Lawrenceville neighborhood near Pierce Brennen Drive and Tech Center Parkway. Inside, officers found Gaddis with a single gunshot wound to his head. His cell phone, wallet and car keys were missing.

Investigators found that on the night he was last seen, Gaddis had been contacted on the Tagged dating app by a user who eventually was determined to be the defendant. In the online exchange between the two, Gaddis had agreed to meet White near the Little Suwanee Pointe neighborhood. When he was near, White told Gaddis to pick him up near the pool area. Surveillance cameras showed Gaddis’ truck drive through the neighborhood shortly after 11 p.m. stopping to pick up a Black man with shoulder-length dreadlocks in the parking lot of the pool clubhouse. Minutes after the truck was seen driving toward the entrance to the neighborhood at Tech Center Parkway, the same dreadlocked man was seen walking from the entrance back to the pool clubhouse.

Police found a shell casing in the cab of Gaddis’ truck that matched three shell casings from a gun fired during a July 19, 2021 incident in which White was accused of shooting at his ex-girlfriend and her mother. The mother collected the shell casings and kept them until she was contacted by police during the investigation of Gaddis’ murder.

Police body camera footage from an eviction from a townhome across from the pool several weeks later showed a man inside the unit who was dressed similarly to the figure captured on video the night Gaddis was killed. An arrest warrant for Gaddis was issued and he was apprehended in June 2022.

Gwinnett Managing Assistant District Attorney Michele Sims and Assistant District Attorney Diamond Johnson prosecuted the case. They were assisted by DA’s Investigator Christina Newman and Victim Witness Advocate Karen McKinlay. Gwinnett County Police Department Sgt. Jorstad was instrumental in closing the case.

 Mark Antonio White, 23.  Photo via Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.