2021 Sandy Springs Kroger deadly shooting: 2nd suspect arrested in Ohio
Cortney Demar White and Devonte Lavonne Childs (Sandy Springs Police Department)
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - A man wanted in a deadly 2021 grocery store shooting in Sandy Springs has been arrested in Ohio.
Davonte Lavonne Childs, 27, was caught by members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF), the Euclid Police Department, EDGE (Eastside Departments Group Enforcement) SWAT, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Special Response Team (SRT) in Euclid, Ohio on Thursday.
‘Armed and dangerous’ man wanted in deadly Sandy Springs Kroger shooting
Childs was wanted in connection with the shooting at the Kroger at the Orchard Park Shopping Center located in the 2000 block of Dunwoody Club Drive on Aug. 17, 2021.
Investigators say Childs shot 22-year-old Yemi Mabiaku five times in the back, killing him. Another man was also injured in the gunfire but survived his injuries.
Sandy Springs Police say Childs, Mabiaku, and a third man, Cortney Demar White, knew each other and believe the violence was related to a drug deal. All three met in the parking lot for a transaction involving "a large amount of marijuana," police said. At some point, that deal soured and turned into a deadly shooting.
White surrendered to police days after the shooting. Both men were charged with murder.
Murder suspect Davonte Childs arrested after Ohio SWAT standoff
Authorities in Georgia and Ohio have been coordinating for two years to track Childs down. Eventually, they found him inside a home in the 25000 block of Tungston Ave in Euclid. As law enforcement officials closed in, officials say Childs pointed a gun at them, prompting a brief SWAT standoff.
Childs would eventually surrender to the authorities without further incident. Police found two guns in his home.
He was booked into an Ohio jail, where he is waiting to be extradition back to Georgia to face homicide charges.