Metro Atlanta

Tipster stays anonymous, gets cash reward in DeKalb arson murder case

FIRE VICTIM MOURNED--October 21, 2015 DeKalb County: Displaced resident Keyera Wade grieved for her neighbor who perished in the fire saying, "Tomorrow's not promised, We don't have anything. Everything's gone." One person died and at least one other was injured Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 in a huge apartment fire in DeKalb County, authorities said. DeKalb County fire Capt. Eric Jackson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the blaze broke out around daybreak at The Parke on Covington apartments in the 3000 block of Covington Highway. "Unfortunately, we do have one fatality," Jackson said. DeKalb fire Deputy Chief Norman Augustin said according to family members, the man who died was in his late 20s. Augustin said the fire appears to have started in the second-floor room where the man was found dead. Jackson said another person who jumped from the burning two-story brick building was taken to a local hospital. Keyera Wade credited her son for her family being able to safely get out of the burning building. "I feel like if it wasn't for my son, I wouldn't be here, because he heard the alarm going off," Wade said. She said three of her neighbors were forced to jump to escape the flames. "One, she hurt her leg and her head real bad," Wade said. "And the other two, they're fine." "Tomorrow's not promised," she said. "We don't have anything. Everything's gone." Covington Highway was closed just inside I-285 near Redan Road while fire crews doused the flames, but all lanes had reopened by 9:30 a.m. JOHN SPINK /JSPINK@AJC.COM
FIRE VICTIM MOURNED--October 21, 2015 DeKalb County: Displaced resident Keyera Wade grieved for her neighbor who perished in the fire saying, "Tomorrow's not promised, We don't have anything. Everything's gone." One person died and at least one other was injured Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 in a huge apartment fire in DeKalb County, authorities said. DeKalb County fire Capt. Eric Jackson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the blaze broke out around daybreak at The Parke on Covington apartments in the 3000 block of Covington Highway. "Unfortunately, we do have one fatality," Jackson said. DeKalb fire Deputy Chief Norman Augustin said according to family members, the man who died was in his late 20s. Augustin said the fire appears to have started in the second-floor room where the man was found dead. Jackson said another person who jumped from the burning two-story brick building was taken to a local hospital. Keyera Wade credited her son for her family being able to safely get out of the burning building. "I feel like if it wasn't for my son, I wouldn't be here, because he heard the alarm going off," Wade said. She said three of her neighbors were forced to jump to escape the flames. "One, she hurt her leg and her head real bad," Wade said. "And the other two, they're fine." "Tomorrow's not promised," she said. "We don't have anything. Everything's gone." Covington Highway was closed just inside I-285 near Redan Road while fire crews doused the flames, but all lanes had reopened by 9:30 a.m. JOHN SPINK /JSPINK@AJC.COM
By Joshua Sharpe
Nov 16, 2016

Georgia Arson Control, along with the DeKalb County fire department, has presented a check to a resident who helped secure a murder conviction for the woman who set a fire that killed a man.

The resident, who wants to remain anonymous, received $7,500 for information on a Oct. 21, 2015, blaze at Park on Covington Apartments off Covington Highway. Tony Hubert, 37, saved his fiancée's life before dying in the blaze. The fire was reportedly started because of a dispute over whether someone else in Hubert's apartment had been squatting in a vacant unit across the parking lot. 

“The information given to DeKalb Fire Investigators from the anonymous source led them to Jasmine Lockett, 26, who was ultimately arrested, charged and convicted in a court of law with arson in the first degree and murder,” DeKalb fire chief Darnell Fullum said in a news release. “This incident should serve as a reminder to our residents when it comes to speaking up about crime. If you see something, say something.”

Jim Beck, treasurer of Georgia Arson Control said it was “a pleasure to reward someone who will stand up for the right thing even under difficult circumstances.”

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