An Atlanta man was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a deadly shooting at a Lithonia apartment complex that resulted in injuries to a 74-year-old woman and placed a child’s life in danger, authorities said Thursday.
Gary Davis, 24, was convicted in June of malice murder in the death of 25-year-old Christopher Eure, who was driving away from the Fontaine West complex Jan. 30, 2020, when he was shot. Eure lost control of his SUV and accelerated through the wall of the woman’s apartment, running her down and pinning her under the vehicle.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
The woman, now 79, was taken to a hospital with a broken knee. A stray bullet also went through the window of an 11-year-old boy’s bedroom in a neighboring apartment, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. No one inside that apartment was injured.
According to prosecutors, Eure and another man went to the complex off Panola Road to drop off a passenger that night. As they were leaving, Davis ran up to Eure’s vehicle and fired off 16 rounds.
The other man in the SUV was also injured but survived. He said Davis had confronted him before, believing he was responsible for a home invasion at the home of Davis’ mother in 2019, prosecutors said. The jury heard at trial that Davis received a phone call, grabbed a gun and left his apartment 10 minutes before the shooting, only to return minutes later.
The witness told investigators that the 24-year-old gunman said something to the effect of “this was how it was going to end anyways.”
He was found in the complex shortly after the shooting and arrested.
In addition to Eure’s murder, jurors found Davis guilty of first-degree criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, theft by receiving stolen property and three counts of aggravated assault.
He was sentenced Tuesday by DeKalb Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie to life in prison plus 15 years, with the possibility of parole.
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