ATLANTA — Atlanta police released new details on the murder of a man found dead in the driveway of a vacant lot in Buckhead last week.
Investigators say 57-year-old Christopher Eberhart, a Gainesville framer who was waiting to start construction, was found shot to death in an upscale Buckhead neighborhood on Oct. 13.
Police announced on Monday that a suspect connected to his death, identified as 18-year-old Travis Landrey, is now in custody.
Around 4:30 a.m., Atlanta police stopped a car they believe was stolen near I-75 at Moore’s Mill Road. Officers say the car with two men inside sped off. The officer found the car overturned on Northside Parkway a short time later.
Only one suspect, Braylon Espree, was in the car when officers found it. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was treated and later released.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The second suspect, later identified as Landrey, escaped before officers arrived and was walking around Buckhead with a gun looking for another car to steal, according to police.
Investigators believe that Landrey found Eberhart sitting in his GMC Sierra pickup truck and confronted him just after 7 a.m. During the confrontation, Landrey shot Eberhart several times and stole his truck.
Landrey and Espree met back up with each other after Espree was released from the hospital at 9:30 a.m., according to police.
TRENDING STORIES:
- ‘We don’t know why:’ Family of Navy veteran, father shot and killed on I-285 wants answers
- 4-year-old boy killed in crash that left father in critical condition in Polk County
- Ga. woman charged after dogs mauled her mother to death inside their home, deputies say
The pair were later found Thursday in the stolen truck traveling down Interstate 65 southbound in Mobile County, Alabama and subsequently arrested. Police believe they were traveling back to their home in Louisiana.
At that time, Landrey and Espree were charged with stealing Eberhart’s car.
Based on evidence police found in the car, they charged Landrey with murder, hijacking a motor vehicle, felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Espree was in the hospital at the time of the murder, so he is not facing charges related to Eberhart’s death at this time.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Investigators say that Landrey and Espree were in the Atlanta area after taking a Greyhound bus from Lafayette, Louisiana to Atlanta on October 9 and staying in a hotel in Canton for several days before beginning to make their way back home.
Both are being held in Mobile County, Alabama.
©2022 Cox Media Group
