A 36-year-old Stone Mountain man has been sentenced to a quarter-century behind bars for the fatal shooting of a teen in a confrontation that turned deadly. Trillian Haile will serve 20 years in confinement, followed by 5 on probation, for the killing of 19-year-old Dontavious Young.
According to a statement from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the jury found Haile guilty on March 13. The charges included Voluntary Manslaughter, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. The tragic events unfolded on September 8, 2020, when Young was shot multiple times in what Haile claimed was a self-defense situation gone fatally awry.
The Stone Mountain Police Department responded to several 911 calls about a shooting on Cherry Wood Drive and found Young lying in the street. Though an empty holster was discovered next to him, Young's final moments came after 13 bullets had already sealed his fate. Haile stood not far, with two handguns placed before him—claiming one as his own and identifying the other as Young's. Wounded himself, he was subsequently taken to the hospital.
In an interview with detectives, Haile insisted he did not know Young and had only shot to preserve his own life. "I’m sorry," were the words Young allegedly uttered before Haile continued to historically pull the trigger, per his own account to the officers. Senior Judge David Irwin handed down the sentence, underlining the gravity of a moment where a life was to be forever silenced.
The prosecution was carried out by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Yolanda Lippert, with support from Assistant District Attorney Miriam Broussard, DA Investigator Tiffany Edwards, and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer. "Stone Mountain Police Department Det. Burton led the initial investigation," according to the DA's office. This case brings a close, but not a conclusion, to the tragic story of two individuals whose lives intersected with irreversible consequences.
