The following was taken from a press release distributed by the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney – Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit on April 2, 2024:
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against an Atlanta man accused of shooting and killing a man inside his own apartment.
Jurors returned guilty verdicts Friday against Chris Jackson, 20, on charges of Felony Murder, two counts of Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery and two counts of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.
According to the investigation, just after 11 a.m. on August 30, 2022, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call about a person shot at an apartment on Bedevere Circle in unincorporated Decatur. When police arrived, they found Travies Thomas, 40, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics transported Thomas to Atlanta Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators found five bullet casings in the hallway and bedroom. Officers discovered two safes inside a bedroom. One of the safes was open and empty.
A female witness in the apartment told police that she was in the shower when she heard multiple gunshots. A man wearing a ski mask then came to the bedroom door and stole her iPhone before leaving.
Another witness who lived nearby told police she heard the shots and then saw two men get into a black BMW SUV and speed away from the complex.
Detectives were able to access Thomas’ security cameras. The camera facing the parking lot captured a black BMW parked in front of his apartment.
The video showed one of the suspects knocking on the apartment door and being let inside. The second suspect then got out of the SUV and walked into the apartment without knocking.
While the two suspects were inside, the driver of the SUV repositioned the car to face the complex’s exit. A short time later, both suspects were captured on video leaving the apartment carrying items they did not bring with them.
Using the surveillance video, detectives discovered the car was registered to Defendant Jackson’s girlfriend, Enexia Liggons. Police arrested Defendant Liggons and in an interview with investigators, she said she was not driving her car at the time of the shooting.
She identified the suspects as her boyfriend, Defendant Chris Jackson, and a man named “Menace,” who district attorney investigators later determined to be Defendant Joe Noel, 20.
During the trial, Defendant Jackson testified that he was only at the apartment to buy drugs and did not shoot Thomas.
Immediately following the guilty verdicts, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Jackson to two consecutive Life sentences, plus 30 years.
Defendant Noel pled guilty on March 25, 2024 to the reduced charge of Voluntary Manslaughter. His sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The charges against Defendant Liggons are pending.
The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jasmine Atakora and Senior Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Friedman, District Attorney Investigator Alex Cushenan, and Supervising Victim Advocate Ikwo Nyong. DeKalb County Police Department Detective Redrick led the initial investigation.