Gwinnett County man who killed his wife, son-in-law sentenced to life in prison

A Gwinnett County man will spend the rest of his life in prison after his sentencing on Friday.

Bernie Ray Mack, 63, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 30 years after a Gwinnett County jury found him guilty of malice murder, voluntary manslaughter, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of gun possession during the commission of a felony for the 2022 shooting deaths of Bridget Pearl Brooks-Mack and Jeremy Roshawn Santos.

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In May 2022, Gwinnett County police responded to Mack’s home on Harbor Bay Drive and Chandler Road in Lawrenceville just after 6 p.m. after reports of a person shot during a domestic incident.

Police determined a dispute from days earlier involving Mack, his wife Brooks-Mack, Mack’s stepdaughter Briana Santos, and her husband Jeremy Santos spilled over and resulted in Mack shooting his spouse at their home.

Mack, police said fled the home after shooting and killing his wife.

Briana and Jeremy Santos arrived to Mack’s home shortly where they found Briana’s mother dead inside. As the couple called the police and drove away from the home with their children in the car, they passed Mack returning to the neighborhood in his vehicle.

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Santos, who was armed with a handgun, fired at Mack’s car, police said. Mack then turned his car around to chase Santos with his vehicle. Santos exited his vehicle to run from Mack, who chased him on foot. Both individuals were firing at one another, however, witnesses told police they saw Mack shoot Santos six times as Briana drove away.

After he was convinced by a neighbor to put his weapon down, Mack remained on scene and was arrested by GCPD.

“We offer condolences to the Santos and Brooks family and hope that this conviction brings some closure and level of healing,” said Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson. “The defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison for his thoughtless actions when he killed two people. The loved ones of Bridget Brooks-Mack and Jeremy Santos spoke about their enduring legacies. We hope that this verdict will send a message in our community that violence is never an acceptable end to a dispute.”

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