A DeKalb County jury has found Brian Fort, 21, guilty of the murder of 20-year-old Joshua Quaintance. The conviction, which includes charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, will send Fort to prison for life without the possibility of parole, plus an additional five years. This news emerged following a report from Atlanta News First.
The circumstances of Quaintance's death, learned in the early morning hours, date back to March 12, 2023, at a birthday bash turned fatal at a short-term rental home in Decatur. According to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, after being tipped off by a neighbor, police arrived at the house to find the tell-tale remnants of celebration—alcohol, money, and a birthday cake—but no sign of the victim, who was later found at the emergency room where his death was pronounced. In an interview obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Quaintance's sister recounted the events leading up to her brother's fatal shooting.
Following an altercation outside the property, which began after Quaintance was overheard insulting the party on a phone call, Fort and several armed men confronted Quaintance. The District Attorney's Office said that Quaintance tried to leave in a car but was shot by Fort. The shooter later told police he fired on Quaintance because he believed the victim had pulled a gun, a claim contradicted by the fact that police never found a weapon on Quaintance.
Fort's arrest came after a dine-and-dash incident at a Juicy Crab restaurant in Cobb County, which occurred while he was already wanted for Quaintance's murder. Quick thinking by a Juicy Crab employee, who reported Fort's license plate to the police, led to his apprehension through the use of license plate readers, as noted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since then, Fort has been held at the DeKalb jail without bond, awaiting the outcome of his trial.
