Suspect charged with murder of Lithonia teen found shot in the head in crashed car, police say

Tremale Hester

Police have arrested a man in connection to a DeKalb County teenager found dead inside a car in July. 

The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office arrested 19-year-old Tremale Leeshon Hester on Tuesday at a fast food restaurant on South Deshon Road in Lithonia.

Law enforcement charged Hester with murdering 17-year-old Isaiah Artis. Police found Artis dead in a car that crashed into a telephone pole on July 17 on Ashley Lane in Stone Mountain.

Authorities said Artis had a gunshot wound to the head.

Neighbors said two teen girls walking their dogs found Artis.

"I heard someone screaming and I heard dogs barking," one neighbor described. "My neighbor said she heard a gunshot and a bang, but she didn’t think anything of it because she got up and looked out the window. She says she saw a male walking from the area, but he didn’t have a sense of urgency or anything."

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