A Lithonia man has been sentenced to 70 years in prison following a jury trial that found him guilty of multiple charges, including aggravated assault and cruelty to children. According to a news release from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, Dmante Dontrell Anderson will serve 63 years in confinement with the remainder on probation. The conviction stems from an incident in 2019 where Anderson shot his wife after she had filed for divorce earlier that day.
On June 14, 2019, DeKalb County Police responded to a shooting at an apartment complex and found Anderson's wife bleeding on the ground. She immediately identified Anderson as the shooter, despite his claims that she had shot herself. Officers arrested Anderson, and his wife was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital. There, standing next to her husband with one of their children, she explained to investigators that Anderson's rage was ignited upon overhearing a phone conversation, leading to the shooting.
The trial, overseen by Senior Judge Daniel Coursey, concluded with Anderson's conviction on two counts of Aggravated Assault—Family Violence, False Imprisonment, Simple Battery—Family Violence, two counts of Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Use of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon During the Commission of a Felony. The district attorney's office detailed that Anderson woke up from a nap, heard his wife on the phone, and, after an argument, shot her in the face, fracturing multiple bones.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Garrett Emmons led the prosecution, with Senior Assistant District Attorney Ryan Patrick and others providing support. The case was part of the office's Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit. Judge Coursey handed down the sentence immediately following the guilty verdict. Before help was called by a neighbor, after being shot, the victim's desperate attempt to get help involved running outside which was witnessed by the couple's children.
