Cops: DeKalb man, 42, ‘instructed’ teens to commit alleged murder

DeKalb County police say a 42-year-old man directed teens in a robbery that left a woman dead in a "fake cell phone sale."

Jamel Harris of Stone Mountain is charged with murder in the Friday night death of 40-year-old Luz Velequez. Warrants released Tuesday also charge Jakerius Henry of Lithonia, who’ll turn 18 Thursday, with murder.

A juvenile has also been charged with murder, authorities announced late Tuesday afternoon.

The warrants say the woman and her husband went to Woodcrest Village Apartments outside Lithonia around 9 p.m. to buy an iPhone 6. It had been advertised on the OfferUp app for $100.

Instead, the suspects demanded the victims’ phones and money.

An argument followed and the couple tried to leave.

The warrants accuse Harris of “instructing” the teen accomplices to shoot at the couple. The documents don’t make clear who the shooter was.

Harris, Henry and the juvenile were arrested Monday in a burned out home on Old Wellborn Trace in Lithonia, the sheriff’s office said. K-9 Viper led deputies to them.