A Lithonia man was sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 murder of a transgender woman during a dispute over $20, the DeKalb County district attorney said Wednesday.
On Aug. 10, a jury found Deontavious Brewer, 24, guilty of felony murder, involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the DA’s office said. On Tuesday, Brewer was sentenced to life in prison, plus five years, the DA’s office said.
The deadly shooting happened Nov. 11, 2020, at the Knights Inn on Panola Road.
Kenneth “Peaches” Armstrong, 39, a transgender woman, was asleep when shots were fired into a hotel room she was sharing with Damon Allen, according to investigators. Allen called 911 to report Armstrong had been shot.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Though Allen didn’t see the shooter, he told investigators it was likely the result of a dispute between Armstrong and two others over money, according to the DA’s office. The two suspects were identified as Brewer and 29-year-old Terrel Battle, also a transgender woman.
Armstrong and Battle were longtime friends and referred to each other as sisters, according to investigators. When her father died, Armstrong inherited a large amount of money and gave some to Battle, even paying for Battle’s hotel room next to hers for a time. But she later refused to give Battle an additional $20.
When the payments stopped, hotel management told investigators Battle was evicted from her room.
The shooting was captured on hotel surveillance video and showed Brewer get out of a silver BMW and fire 11 rounds through the window of Armstrong’s room, investigators said. Brewer then climbed back into the car, driven by Battle, and the two drove away.
The day after Armstrong was killed, one of Battle’s family members told detectives she believed Battle was the shooter, the DA’s office said. The family member said Battle had posted on Facebook that she was going to kill Armstrong. After the shooting, both Battle and Brewer talked about having killed someone, the family member told police.
Battle and Brewer were arrested at an Atlanta apartment, where the BMW used in the hotel shooting was parked, investigators said. Brewer later confessed to being the shooter and Battle admitted being the getaway driver.
On Oct. 11, Battle pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. She was sentenced to 25 years to serve 20 with the remainder on probation, the DA’s office said. Battle is being held at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
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