A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty in a 2018 stabbing of a family friend over $125, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office said.
Justin Gold, 27, was found guilty of malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony in the killing of 38-year-old Antoine DePass. Gold was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus five years.
On Sept. 11, 2018, DePass went to Gold’s apartment in Decatur to pay him the money he claimed he owed, DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a news release Monday. Gold became angry with DePass, pulled out a knife and stabbed him nearly 20 times in the face, head, chest and heart, Boston said.
Gold left DePass bleeding in the grass and went to change his clothes, collect the weapon and call an Uber, Boston said. When the Uber driver arrived at the apartment complex, she found a man lying face down in the grass near a breezeway outside one of the buildings, according to an incident report previously obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The driver could not see that the man in the grass had been fatally stabbed and asked Gold if he knew what was wrong with the man, the AJC reported. He claimed not to know the victim and tried to convince the driver to drive away, but the driver refused and called 911, Boston said. Gold then fled the scene.
By the time officers arrived, DePass had died, Boston said. The Uber driver gave a description of Gold, his Uber username and the address of his requested destination. Boston said officers found Gold at the location provided by the driver.
He attempted to flee, but officers were able to get him inside the patrol car, along with a bag containing his identification, bloody clothing and a large butcher knife covered in blood, Boston said. While being questioned, Gold changed his story multiple times before claiming he acted in self-defense, Boston said.
