A Loganville man has been handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a drive-by shooting that took place in 2021. Makilyn Chavon Manzie, aged 21, was found guilty of the murder of 20-year-old Devond Holmes as well as an attack that wounded another man, according to the AJC. Manzie, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was also convicted on several other counts, including aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The jury, after about four hours of deliberation, concluded that the violence was a retaliatory act by Manzie, who was reportedly seeking vengeance for a recent robbery. Authorities stated that on the morning of March 13, 2021, Devond Holmes and Demontries Rule were asleep in a car when they were abruptly gunned down. In a statement obtained by Fox 5 Atlanta, gunfire was said to wake Rule up, who was subsequently shot in the arm, while Holmes was fatally injured.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Manzie had driven to the neighborhood multiple times prior to the shooting and had taken measures to thoroughly seemingly disconnect any ties to the crime. As noted by Fox 5 Atlanta, Manzie turned off his phone and the security cameras at his residence on the day of the incident. Following the shooting, he instructed his girlfriend via text to report the gun, an AK-47, as stolen.
The case turned on both physical evidence and technological surveillance, as footage from a doorbell camera helped identify a black sedan as the vehicle used in the shooting. District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson, as reported by Fox 5 Atlanta, called the crime "premeditated," "outrageous," and "intolerable." The jury was shown how Manzie's behavior post-crime also included quickly trying to cover up the act by texting to falsely report the weapon used as stolen.
Ultimately, what the investigation uncovered was a web of conflict between Manzie and Holmes, underscored by messages wherein Manzie referred to Holmes as "Brutus," signifying betrayal. Despite Manzie's claims of innocence and his denial of the shooting to investigators, the evidence led to his conviction on all accounts. Alongside the life sentence, Manzie received an additional 25 years, closing a chapter on a case that culminated from a confluence of retribution and technology-leveraged detective work as laid out in the DA's findings and the reports from the AJC and Fox 5 Atlanta.
