Julius Dewberry had let Christopher Roberts do odd jobs for him around his East Point home.
Roberts, a career criminal, had been in and out of jail since 1999.
He was also the last person to see Dewberry before the 92-year-old World War II veteran was found strangled to death in his home in February 2013. The rope was still around his neck.
Roberts admitted to strangling Dewberry, stealing a TV and $4,000 in cash moments before he was set to go to trial, Fulton County District Attorney spokesman Dontaye Carter said. Roberts was sentenced to life in prison.
“At 92 years old, Mr. Dewberry’s spirit was just as strong as his conviction to serve our Country in World War II and the Korean War,” East Point Police Chief Tommy Gardner said in a release. “He was proud of his service to this Country and he was proud of the life he built in East Point. That life was tragically taken from Mr. Dewberry’s wife, daughter, and the East Point Community. We are saddened by his death but find solace knowing that the defendant will be held accountable.”
Police were initially tipped off about Roberts’ connection to the crime by a drug dealer in the community, Carter said. The man told police Roberts sold him the TV in exchange for drugs, but he discarded it once he found out Roberts killed Dewberry. The man also identified Roberts in a photo lineup.
Authorities later discovered Roberts bought a Lincoln Town Car with $4,000 he stole from Dewberry and tried to sell the vet’s jewelry box to a relative.
Police eventually found Roberts, who admitted to being at Dewberry’s home the night of the murder and stealing the TV. A day later, police arrested and charged him with murder, burglary, robbery and theft. He pleaded guilty to the murder and burglary charges Friday.
At the time of Dewberry’s murder, Roberts was on probation following a suspended sentence for a May 2012 entering vehicle charge, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Roberts’ lengthy history with police dates back to 1999, when he was arrested for a battery charge. Since then he was in and out of jail for numerous crimes including aggravated assault, obstruction, weapons and traffic charges.
In one case, The AJC reported Atlanta police arrested Roberts after he’d attacked his ex-wife with a kitchen knife in a cocaine-induced rage, stabbing her several times in the legs. Her screams were heard throughout the home by the couple’s children. He was released on a $20,000 bond after month in jail.
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