A Fulton County judge sentenced a man to two life terms in prison plus 15 additional years after he was convicted of robbing a former Georgia Southern University student and shooting him 13 times.
Denzel Atkins, 24, was sentenced Monday in the death of Elijah Wallace, according to Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard.
Prosecutors said Atkins met Wallace, 22, when the latter was studying in Statesboro. Wallace had taken a semester off and moved back to Atlanta at the time of his death, officials said.
“Atkins was aware that Wallace sold marijuana and would likely be carrying a significant amount of cash,” Howard said.
On Dec. 22, 2015, Atkins reached out to his friend Harold Foster and asked if he wanted to travel from Vidalia to Atlanta to “make some money.” Foster agreed and the duo drove Foster’s girlfriend’s car, Howard said.
When they arrived, Atkins contacted Wallace and told him he wanted to meet for a marijuana deal, Howard said.
Atkins and Foster met Wallace at a location on Astor Avenue, prosecutors said. Wallace got into the back seat of the car Atkins was driving and handed him a book bag containing marijuana and $20,000 in cash, Howard said.
Wallace then saw a 9 mm handgun on Atkins’ lap. According to Howard, Wallace complimented Atkins’ gun and showed him one of his own.
Atkins then opened the backpack and looked at the marijuana and cash, Howard said. He then turned around, pointed his gun at Wallace and fired.
Wallace was hit in the head and torso, as well as other extremities. He died of his wounds.
Atkins drove the car to a location on Campbellton Road and dumped Wallace’s body, Howard said. He and Foster then went back to Vidalia.
During the drive, the duo tried to get rid of Wallace’s shoes, phone and gun by tossing them out of the car window, according to Howard. They also tossed Atkins’ gun and their clothes, he said.
When they got back to Vidalia, Atkins and Foster told his girlfriend what they had done and said they were going to burn her car. The girlfriend called police and reported the vehicle stolen, Howard said.
The day after the shooting, police found the car in Montgomery, Alabama. It looked like someone had tried to burn it, Howard said.
Police arrested Foster in Decatur on Jan. 20, 2016, Howard said. Atkins was arrested two months later after he was found hiding in a friend’s attic in Savannah.
Investigators said the year before Wallace’s murder, Atkins was tried on murder charges in Candler County, Howard said. The jury deadlocked.
In the 2015 incident, Atkins was convicted of murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal attempt to purchase marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The case against Foster is still active.
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