DECATUR MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE PLUS FIVE YEARS AFTER DEADLY ATTEMPTED ROBBERY AT APARTMENT COMPLEX

September 10, 2024

State v. Antonio Lee

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a Decatur man accused of taking part in an attempted armed robbery that led to the death of Charles Lewis, 31.

On Friday, September 6, jurors found Antonio Lee, 23, guilty on charges of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Criminal Attempt to Commit Armed Robbery, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, stemming from the shooting on January 28, 2020.

According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded at around 10:40 a.m. to a call about a person shot in the 600 block of Wesley Club Drive in unincorporated Decatur. When they arrived, officers found Lewis on the floor of his apartment with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics transported Lewis to Grady Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Investigators recovered several shell casings in the stairwell of the apartment building and a rose gold iPhone on the path leading to the building. Police were able to connect that cell phone to Defendant Lee.

In an interview, Defendant Lee tried to claim he was on his way to Lewis's apartment to buy marijuana when he heard gunshots and ran away dropping his phone, but video surveillance from the area proved that was a lie. Investigators later learned Defendant Lee had ridden with his Co-Defendant, Vincent Smith, and another unknown man to Lewis's apartment. After the shooting, the two men took Defendant Lee back home.

Immediately following the guilty verdicts, Senior Judge Daniel M. Coursey, Jr., who presided over the trial sitting for the DeKalb County Superior Court, sentenced Defendant Lee to Life plus five years.

On February 26, 2024, Defendant Vincent Jamal Smith, 24, pleaded guilty to charges of Voluntary Manslaughter, Aggravated Assault, Attempted Armed Robbery, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Crime, two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Fleeing, Hit and Run, and Theft by Receiving Stolen Property as part of a negotiated plea. He was sentenced to 25 years to serve 20 in custody with the remaining 5 on probation.

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Helen Pott with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Eliazette Johnson, District Attorney Investigator Curtis Averhart and Victim Advocate Kaysha Albritton. DeKalb County Police Department Det. Wright led the initial investigation.

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