A DeKalb County man convicted in the 2020 slaying of a 50-year-old was sentenced to life in prison after officials said a cigarette butt and a pistol linked him to the deadly motel shooting.
A jury found 23-year-old Tyler Merritt guilty of murder and other charges Thursday stemming from the Jan. 26, 2020, killing of Wayne Cunningham, DeKalb prosecutors said.
Police were called to a motel along Wesley Chapel Road about 4:30 p.m. that day and discovered Cunningham lying in the parking lot with two gunshot wounds, authorities said. Investigators believe Merritt shot the man during an argument on the third floor.
“Detectives reviewed video surveillance from the motel and determined the shooting happened inside one of the rooms,” the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
According to prosecutors, Cunningham was seen on video walking into the room with Merritt and three others. About half an hour later, he left the room and collapsed in the parking lot. A group of people then exited the motel, hopped into a stolen car and fled the scene, prosecutors said.
Witnesses told police they had seen Cunningham arguing with Merritt shortly before gunshots rang out, according to investigators. Police said they recovered a 9mm shell casing inside the motel room, along with a cigarette butt containing Merritt’s DNA.
The 23-year-old was arrested two days later at a nearby hotel. During a search of his room, authorities said they recovered a gun that matched the casing left behind at the murder scene.
Following his conviction nearly five years later, a DeKalb judge sentenced Merritt to life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus an additional five years.
A spokesperson for the DA’s office said no charges were filed against the other three people seen entering the room where Cunningham was shot.
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