HAPEVILLE, Ga. — A Hapeville man shot and killed a 39-year-old armed robbery suspect in self-defense after he and a second suspect cornered the victim in his apartment’s parking garage Monday morning, police said.
Hapeville police responded just after 9:30 a.m. to the reported shooting at The Atlantic Aerotropolis, located at 3640 S. Fulton Ave.
In an exclusive interview with Channel 2′s Michael Seiden, Sgt. Stephen Cushing said that the victim was headed to work but when he got to his car, a gunman behind the wheel of a white Camaro jumped out and ordered him to the ground.
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The victim told police that he followed the suspect’s order to get on the ground, used his Mercedes-Benz for cover, and eventually pulled out his pistol and fired multiple shots, killing the armed suspect.
But seconds later, police say, the victim spotted a second suspect seated in the front seat, so he began firing at the man before running back to his apartment where he called 911 and reported what had happened.
Police confirmed that when officers arrived, they rushed to the top deck of the parking garage where they found the victim’s car riddled with bullet holes and the armed suspect’s body.
Witnesses also alerted police to the second suspect who was arrested after officers found him urinating on a grassy area outside a church about a quarter mile from the scene.
Police identified him as Alton Coleman, 33.
He’s charged with murder and aggravated assault, according to jail records.
A search of court records revealed that Coleman has a lengthy arrest record dating back to 2011.
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Authorities also identified the deceased suspect as Lando Carter, 39.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and a spokesperson confirmed that Carter was sentenced in the Northern District of Georgia to an aggregate 166-month sentence for interference with commerce by threats or violence, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.
Carter was released from prison on May 26, 2023.
Channel 2 Action News stopped by the victim’s apartment for comment, but no one was home.
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