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Written by: A. Smith
Published April 16, 2025 @ 10:16 AM ET
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – A Stone Mountain man was sentenced to two life terms plus five additional years after being convicted of fatally shooting his boss in 2023.
Yamir Paul Thomas, 23, was sentenced April 3, nearly a week after a DeKalb County jury found him guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The victim was 57-year-old Donald Crenshaw, who worked as a general manager at a Church’s Chicken where Thomas was also employed.
Authorities said the two men argued at the restaurant on Sept. 4, 2023. Early the next morning, police responded to a shooting at a residence on Valley Green Road in Lithonia. A caller reported finding his roommate, later identified as Crenshaw, dead in a bedroom.
Investigators reviewed doorbell surveillance footage showing Crenshaw and Thomas arriving at the home around 11:30 p.m. Crenshaw briefly returned to his car minutes later. At 11:35 p.m., Thomas was captured on video leaving the residence with a handgun visible in his pocket and driving away in Crenshaw’s silver Volvo.
Footage later showed Thomas returning to the house shortly before midnight, then leaving again with a wallet stuffed with cash.
The stolen vehicle was recovered the next day, parked a short distance from Thomas’s residence.
Thomas was arrested on Dec. 11, 2023. During an interview with detectives, he admitted to shooting Crenshaw but claimed he acted in self-defense. A review of his phone revealed searches such as “What’s the sentencing range for second-degree murder?” and “Can fugitives get jobs?”
Thomas was ultimately sentenced to serve two life sentences, with an additional five years to be served consecutively.