At first, DeKalb County police heard a story about an "aggressive" driver who shot a 21-year-old woman in an SUV, killing her in the middle of I-20 traffic.
That was false, police said.
The story changed: Greg Neal, 22, who had been riding in a seat behind the victim fired the shot, but it was an accident, his family said.
A week later, Lt. Lonzy Robertson of DeKalb police said it appears the shooting of Airiyuanna Burston indeed was inadvertent.
“Detectives are still trying to figure out how it happened,” he said in an email.
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Warrants say Neal, whose cousin, Decardo Glenn, was driving the Jeep last Thursday near Wesley Chapel Road, shot Burston in the back.
He was charged with felony murder. Under Georgia law, felony murder occurs when someone commits a felony that leads to a death, whether or not the death was intentional.
In this case, the alleged felony was violation of the first offender act, which allows defendants to have their records cleared if they obey the terms of their sentence. Court records show Neal was placed under the act in 2014 after pleading guilty in a burglary case.
As part of the plea, he was ordered not to have contact with his co-defendants, including the cousin who was driving the Jeep last week. Also, as a felon he’s not allowed to possess a gun.
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