A quick stop at a DeKalb County gas station ended in tragedy when a man was gunned down.
More than two years later, two men were found guilty of murder.
Quavion Hale, 20, and Stantavis Reese, 18, were convicted Wednesday of malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. They are scheduled to be sentenced in May in the death of Akhir Muhammad, 18, the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
On Jan. 10, 2023, Muhammad and a friend walked past the two men and entered a store attached to a Shell station in the 5000 block of Snapfinger Woods Drive. Officials said within seconds of Muhammad exiting the store, Hale and Reese pulled out their firearms and demanded the gun he was “lawfully carrying.”
“Before Muhammad had time to react, defendants Hale and Reese both shot him in the back,” DA’s office spokeswoman Lisa Myers said.
The pair fled the area, but Reese eventually returned to retrieve Muhammad’s gun and a backpack Hale had left behind, Myers confirmed.
Surveillance footage obtained by DeKalb police showed Hale and Reese arriving at the gas station and entering and exiting the store, according to officials. The investigation also led authorities to Hale’s social media, where Myers said he was seen wearing the same backpack and shoes he wore during the shooting.
Hale was arrested within a few months, but Reese was not apprehended until the end of that year.
Cadedra Bryant told Channel 2 Action News shortly after the incident that her son had been studying to become a general electrician and worked in valet parking.
“I can’t believe it. The only time I believed it was when I saw the medical examiner. I still can’t believe it. I’m just very hurt,” she said at the time.
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