Man receives life sentence in connection with three slayings

ATLANTA - A contractor has been sentenced to life in prison for killing three Mexican laborers who were found covered with dirt in the bed of a pickup truck along Interstate 85. <br> <br> Gary Simpson, 40, was convicted of murder Tuesday in the deaths of Moises Rodriquez, 42, and brothers Ricardo Hernandez, 30, and Martin Hernandez, 31. <br> <br> The three had been building a backyard barbecue pit for Simpson at his house near East Point when they were shot in April. Prosecutor Ron Boyter said Simpson suspected the men had burglarized his house three days earlier. <br> <br> Simpson maintained his innocence when Superior Court Judge Philip Etheridge asked him if he had anything to say before sentencing. The state&#39;s case was built almost entirely on the word of a co-defendant, Michael Johnson, who testified after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. He will be sentenced later. <br> <br> A third defendant, Leo Parks, 23, was acquitted of murder but convicted of concealing the bodies. Parks faces a maximum sentence of 30 years. <br> <br> Johnson, 46, testified he helped Parks tie up the three men and toss them into the back of a pickup truck. Johnson said he helped cover the bodies with dirt and lime, and he drove the pickup to Coweta County and parked it along I-85.