A DeKalb man tried to get away with murder. But he left one crucial item behind

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A 33-year-old man learned his fate after his involvement in a deadly drive-by shooting.

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The incident happened on September 8, 2021.

According to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, just after 2 p.m., officers were called to a shooting in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Columbia Drive in unincorporated Decatur.

When officers arrived, they found 36-year-old Christopher Copeland with several gunshot wounds. DeKalb police said he had already died of his injuries.

Investigators reportedly found 17 shell cases in the parking lot.

Witnesses told police they heard multiple shots and then saw a small Nissan speed away from the parking lot.

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Officials said a FLOCK camera near the front of the apartment complex captured a black Nissan Versa with a Florida license plate leaving the complex around the time of the 911 call.

Around 3:30 p.m., an officer leaving the scene spotted the Nissan and tried to stop the car, but the driver, later identified as Aqontise Glenn, reportedly led police on a high-speed chase for over two miles. Authorities said at times Glenn would drive through people’s yards and in the wrong direction on the road to avoid capture.

Glenn then pulled down a dead-end street near Wesley Chapel Road, where he got out of the car, jumped the fence to another apartment complex and dropped a crucial item: an iPhone.

Investigators were able to get a search warrant for the phone and learned it belonged to Glenn. Officials also said phone data placed Glenn at the scene at the time of the shooting.

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A woman at the apartment complex off Wesley Chapel Road reportedly told investigators Glenn was her nephew and that he had kicked down her door and told her not to turn him in. She explained to investigators that she had screamed at him to get out of her house and he ran off.

The U.S. Marshals Service found Glenn in Alabama two weeks later and he was extradited to DeKalb County.

On Monday, a DeKalb County jury found Glenn guilty on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and felony fleeing.

On Tuesday, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams sentenced Glenn to life plus 10 years.

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