Henry Maurice Anderson (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office)
DECATUR, Ga. - A Gwinnett County man has been sentenced to life without parole for fatally shooting a stranger outside a Lithonia sports bar, prosecutors said.
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What we know:
A DeKalb County jury on June 25 convicted Henry Maurice Anderson, 39, on charges including malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to District Attorney Sherry Boston.
The backstory:
The charges stem from the April 6, 2024, killing of 34-year-old Ceazar Abernathy in the parking lot of a bar and grill on the 2900 block of Evans Mill Road. Police found Abernathy dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds. Five shell casings were located nearby.
Surveillance footage showed Abernathy exiting his vehicle and walking toward an area between the restaurant and an adjacent gas station. He was approached by a man later identified as Anderson, seen wearing a backpack and hoodie. The two stood together briefly before Abernathy suddenly ran away and collapsed. Anderson was then seen walking away.
Shortly after the shooting, officers responded to a 911 call from a personal care home less than a mile away, where a suspicious person was reported. The caller’s description matched the suspect in the surveillance video. Anderson was found at the scene, carrying a firearm and a bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms, police said.
Anderson told officers he was under the influence of mushrooms and denied being at the restaurant. However, shell casings at the scene matched the gun he had at the time of his arrest, investigators said.
What's next:
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson sentenced Anderson to life without the possibility of parole plus 15 years.
The Source: The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office provided the details for this article.