A DeKalb County man was sentenced to life in prison plus 85 years for shooting into a minivan, killing the driver and injuring three others, the district attorney announced Monday.
Deonta David, 28, was found guilty Thursday of fatally shooting Diante Harring, 25, on Aug. 20, 2020, officials said. David fired an AR-15 rifle into the vehicle, which had five people inside, including two children. One of the children was permanently injured, according to investigators.
Officers responded that night to a call about several people shot around 7 p.m. in the 2800 block of Flat Shoals Road in the Gresham Park neighborhood, DeKalb officials said. They found Harring unresponsive inside the van and took him to the hospital, where he died.
Both of the children were also injured, with a 10-year-old boy shot in his abdomen and a 7-month-old boy shot in his foot, authorities said. Clifton Vickers, Harring’s adult brother, was shot in the arm.
The 10-year-old and Vickers made full recoveries, but the baby lost a toe, officials said. The children’s mother was the only person in the van who was not shot.
Investigators said they determined that the adults in the van were visiting Atlanta from New York and had arranged to meet with David to purchase marijuana. David instructed Harring to drive to an apartment complex on Columbia Drive, prosecutors said. When Harring arrived, David and an unknown person with a handgun fired at the minivan, prosecutors said.
Harring drove away but eventually was forced to stop due to his wound, according to prosecutors. At that point, Vickers took over and drove to Flat Shoals Road, a little more than three miles away from where the shooting took place.
Vickers was later able to identify David in a lineup, and cellphone data also indicated that David was in the area of the shooting when it happened. Minutes before his death, Harring communicated with David over the phone, records show.
David was found guilty on charges of malice murder, felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
About the Author
