A 32-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of fatally shooting his friend at point-blank range.
A DeKalb County jury last week found Truman Smith guilty of multiple charges, including felony murder, in the 2016 slaying of 50-year-old Johnnie Crawford, according to District Attorney Sherry Boston. A judge sentenced him to life in prison plus five years.
Boston said Smith had been hanging out with Crawford, his cousin and another friend in the parking lot of the friend’s apartment in Stone Mountain on Sept. 15, 2016. The men were drinking and spending time together, as they had done on multiple occasions, she said.
But that day, officials said Smith pulled out his gun and pointed it at Crawford, unprovoked.
“Smith was the only man armed,” Boston said. “Crawford had tears in his eyes, while all three men asked Smith what was going on.”
The cousin and friend both tried to calm Smith down. When Smith walked away, the other men believed he was putting his gun away and that the situation had been diffused, Boston said. The trio returned to drinking.
But then, Smith pulled his gun back out and shot Crawford in the face, authorities said.
The friend went into his apartment and called 911. Smith, who still had his gun at his side, told his cousin to “take him away,” Boston said.
The cousin dropped Smith off at his car and then returned to the scene of the shooting.
It is not clear where Smith went immediately following the shooting, but he was located in Missouri six days later when a highway patrolman stopped him for speeding.
“When the trooper ran Smith’s license, he confirmed that Smith had an active warrant in DeKalb County and placed him under arrest,” Boston said. “A search of the vehicle turned up a pistol, a handgun and ammunition.”
The handgun was later confirmed to be the weapon Smith used to kill Crawford, she said.
Smith was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a handgun during the commission of a felony.
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