Macon Man Gets Life In Prison for 2009 Convenience Store Murder

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The 21-year-old Macon man convicted for killing a convenience store clerk in 2009 was sentenced to life in prison without parole this morning.

Maurice Battle shot and killed store clerk, Dipak ‘Danny’ Patel during a robbery at the Chevron Gas Station on Riverside Drive in Macon. Patel was killed after cooperating with Battle and two others.

Before sentencing, Bibb County Assistant District Attorney Sandra Matson referred to Battle as a “cold-blooded killer”. She asked Judge Edgar Ennis for the maximum sentence, life without parole.

Battle’s attorney, Brad Gardner, asked the judge to consider giving his client parole. He said a troubled past, and mental illness played a factor in Battle’s actions.