A Stone Mountain man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison following a murder conviction for fatally shooting his landlord after a heated quarrel, according to an announcement from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.

Jurors didn't buy Drew Brooks' claim of self-defense and quickly handed down a guilty verdict on April 15, 2024, in the tragic killing of 33-year-old Ashley Watkins back on May 25, 2022. Brooks, 40, who also faced aggravated assault and firearms charges, was found guilty on counts including Voluntary Manslaughter and Felony Murder, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela M. Barrie wasn't swayed by Brooks' defense, sentencing him on Tuesday to a hard 25 years behind bars, followed by a decade hanging over probation's tightrope.

Gunfire erupted in the 4000 block of Autumn Circle, where police discovered Watkins—a gunshot victim—sprawled in the street and rapidly deteriorating. Despite paramedics rushing to transport her to Atlanta Medical Center, Watkins succumbed to her injuries, detailed the DA's office. The rocky tenant-landlord relationship spiraled out of control leading up to the shooting, with Watkins making multiple failed attempts to evict Brooks and secure a Temporary Protective Order against him.

Witness accounts painted a chaotic scene where a verbal confrontation escalated into lethal violence. Brooks shot Watkins and directed his anger, along with his gun, at another frightened woman in the home, threatening her life. However, the twisting tale of self-defense crumbled as video evidence spotlighted Watkins armed only with her keys at the moment she was shot, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The heavy-lifting investigations by the DeKalb County Police Department Detective Crowe and the DA's Homicide and Gangs Unit, backed by Senior Assistant District Attorneys Tauri Thomas and Michael Costello, ensured Brooks would face the consequences of his actions on that fatal May day.