A DeKalb County man who shot another man he knew in the back of the head outside a Stone Mountain gas station in August 2020 was convicted of murder Monday and sentenced to life in prison, officials said.
A jury found 30-year-old Jedidja Mbungu guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston announced. Mbungu shot De’Andre Jones, 20, near a Chevron on Rockbridge Road, fatally wounding him.
Initially, Mbungu was also charged with malice murder, online court records show, but he was acquitted on that count. Under Georgia’s laws, a malice murder conviction requires the prosecution to prove that a person planned to intentionally kill a victim.
Mbungu was booked into the DeKalb jail a few days after killing Jones and has remained there for more than three years. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional five years for the gun charge, Boston said. A representative from the DA’s office said Mbungu will be eligible for parole.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
According to Boston, Mbungu and Jones had “interactions” at some point before the shooting. Mbungu, who knew that Jones sometimes hung out at the Chevron at 410 South Stone Mountain Lithonia Road, went there on Aug. 29, 2020, carrying a gun and wearing a ballistic vest under his T-shirt.
A security guard witnessed Mbungu walking through the gas station, pointing at Jones and saying out loud that he knew Jones did not have a gun, Boston said. The two men “crossed paths in the middle of Rockbridge Road” and stared at each other for a moment before Jones kept walking, Boston said.
Mbungu then ran back toward Jones, yelling at him, Boston said. Mbungu pulled his gun and shot Jones in the back of the head. Officers found the victim lying in the gas station’s parking lot with a fatal wound. He was unarmed during the encounter.
Mbungu ran from the scene but he was already known to police and the incident was captured by security cameras, Boston said. Investigators visited his family, who said they would try to get Mbungu to turn himself in. On Sept. 4, 2020, family members drove Mbungu to the DeKalb jail and he was taken into custody.
He is awaiting transfer into the state prison system.
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