In a case that has marked a significant sentence in the state's history, 24-year-old Frederick Yates has been handed down two consecutive life terms plus an additional 18 years for the murders of two individuals. The sentences were for the 2021 killings of Diamond Love and Marcus Smith Jr. in Milan, Tennessee, with the trial concluding in September 2025 after a three-day jury trial, according to Action News 5.
Judge Clayburn Peeples presided over the case in the Gibson County Circuit Court, where Yates was found guilty of a series of charges that included two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of felony murder. The additional charges comprised especially aggravated burglary, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, facilitation of first-degree murder, and tampering with evidence. District Attorney General Frederick H. Agee was reported by FOX13 Memphis to have stated, "The Defendant was sentenced to serve 138 years for violently taking the lives of Diamond Love and Marcus Smith Jr. We are thankful that our office was successful in removing this dangerous defendant from the community of our law-abiding citizens."
The scope of the conviction reflects the severity of the crimes committed by Yates, who was reportedly taken into custody in Ringgold, Georgia. This was highlighted by District Attorney Agee, according to a report by WREG News, who expressed his office's commitment to maintaining the safety of the community by removing violent offenders like Yates from the population.
"...We are thankful that our Office was successful in removing this dangerous defendant from the community of our law-abiding citizens. Unless the Defendant gets some relief in the Court of Criminal Appeals, he is not going to survive his prison sentence. Our Office is committed to removing violent offenders like this Defendant from Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood Counties. We have safe communities, and we intend to keep it that way," District Attorney Agee told Action News 5.
