Lawrenceville shooter gets three life sentences for drug house robbery, triple homicide

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – A Gwinnett County jury on Friday convicted a Lawrenceville man for shooting three people to steal a stash of drugs that included methamphetamine and marijuana. 

Justice Lusk, 25, was found guilty of three counts of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for the Nov. 21, 2020, shooting deaths of Bob Caverly, 64; Steven Andrew Finch, 33; and Eugene McClam, 45. 

“This was an outrageous act of violence,” said Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson. “The families of these men deserve the justice this jury brought. We extend our condolences and care for their lost loved ones.” 

On the afternoon of the shooting, police were called to Creek Water Court in Lawrenceville near Caverly’s home. There, McClam was found with gunshot wounds on a neighbor’s front porch. He later died at a nearby hospital. Police found Caverly’s body inside his home near the front door, and Finch dead in the garage. 

Investigators learned that an Uber driver had dropped a man off near the home before gunfire was heard. Lusk was seen leaving the home with a bookbag and a blanket and trying to get into the car of a Lyft driver. When the Lyft driver refused to give him a ride, Lusk fled to a muddy, wooded area nearby. He eventually went to a home on Millstream Trail where he stashed the bookbag, blanket and other items in the crawl space. 

A police K-9 officer tracked down the items hidden in the crawl space, and investigators found an AK-47 assault rifle, a handgun in the backpack, muddied clothing and shoes, and a large amount of methamphetamines and marijuana. Police had identified Lusk as a potential suspect from the info left with the Uber ride he ordered, and cell phone records.

Around 1 a.m. the next morning, police received a 9-1-1 call from a home on Millstream Trail reporting a suspicious vehicle near where police had found Lusk’s stash. Officers responded and found Lusk as the passenger in the vehicle. 

When interviewed by police detectives, Lusk said that he shot the three men because he felt his life was threatened. During the trial, he took the stand to claim self-defense. Upon being convicted, Lusk was sentenced to three consecutive life prison terms plus five years without the possibility of parole.

Gwinnett County Assistant District Attorneys Michele Sims and Diamond Johnson prosecuted the case. DA’s Investigators J.D. Smith and Christina Newman, and Victim Advocate Karen McKinlay assisted in the trial.  Gwinnett County Police – led by former GPD detective and now DA’s Investigator Douglas Loomis –– were instrumental in helping to prosecute this case.

Pictured: Justice Lusk/Photo provided Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.