Man charged with killing activist, cellmate due in DeKalb court

Donte Lamar Wyatt (Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office)

Donte Lamar Wyatt (Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office)

The man accused of killing an LGBT activist during an April crime spree — and later strangling his cellmate at the DeKalb County jail — is scheduled for an arraignment hearing Wednesday morning.

Donte Lamar Wyatt, 33, was arrested April 13 following a series of violent incidents that began at a Henry County Waffle House. According to police, he met his estranged wife at the eatery and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing in a rented pickup truck.

From there, the McDonough resident allegedly drove to DeKalb County, where he broke into the Shadowridge Drive home of Catherine Han Montoya, an LGBT activist and member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Indictments allege Wyatt beat Montoya and attacked her with a knife before strangling her with a scarf.

Authorities believe Wyatt then took Montoya’s car and drove about a mile away to a house on Glynn Drive, where he holed up in the basement and refused to surrender until a SWAT team used tear gas.

Following his arrest, Wyatt was taken to the DeKalb County jail — where officials believe he killed his cellmate on July 4.

Jah’Corey D. Tyson, 23, was being held on family violence and rape charges when he was attacked, officials said. Indictments accuse Wyatt of strangling Tyson and “depriving [him] of his eye globes.”

Tyson died after being transported to DeKalb Medical Center.

In two separate indictments, Wyatt is charged with a total of 14 crimes — including two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder and four counts of aggravated assault. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Wednesday in front of DeKalb County Judge Asha Jackson.

During an arraignment, defendants are typically asked to enter a plea.