A Lithonia woman was allowed to leave a DeKalb County courtroom with her family Monday moments after she was sentenced to prison for brutally beating and killing the father of her youngest child at their home last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Quaneesha Nicole Johnson, 30, was convicted Friday of voluntary manslaughter and cruelty to children after she struck Demonte Smith, 29, in the head with a tire rod and fatally shot him inside the residence, according to the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office.
County Superior Court Judge Shondeana Morris sentenced Johnson to five years in prison, plus five more under house arrest. Prosecutors said they had requested that Johnson be taken into custody immediately after she was found guilty, but the judge ordered her to be placed under house arrest while her attorney appeals the conviction.
“That was a decision made by the judge when the defense requested an appeal bond during the sentencing hearing,” DeKalb DA spokesperson Lisa Myers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
On Nov. 27, 2022, Johnson called 911 asking for a police escort to the residence on Edenberry Lane in Lithonia. Earlier that morning, Johnson got into an argument with Smith after she left her three children with him that night while she went clubbing and wasn’t home by the expected time of 6 a.m. Smith threatened to hit her when she got back, prosecutors said.
Johnson’s attorney, Michael Sterling, told the AJC that his client had called 911 three times that day after receiving threatening messages from Smith, and that she flagged down a police escort after officers didn’t arrive for two hours. Sterling said Smith was previously prosecuted by the attorney’s office for aggravated stalking, battery and domestic violence.
“The deceased had a history of abuse and had threatened to beat and kill other women before,” he said.
At about 11 a.m., Johnson arrived at the home with a gun and was told by officers to place it in her car. Smith then went outside, and the pair argued again in front of the officers, who tried to break it up.
After being told to head inside and calm down, the DA’s office said Johnson asked the officers a hypothetical question: What would happen if she shot Smith “in self-defense?” The woman also told them she had researched the self-defense law, prosecutors said.
Johnson left the home moments later and grabbed a metal tire rod and gun from the car. She then went back inside, hit Smith with the metal object and opened fire, according to the DA’s office.
Prosecutors said Johnson had told one of her children to say Smith hit her in a 911 call, which picked up the gunshot and Johnson repeatedly saying “bye” to him. Smith was found with a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said at the time.
Investigators learned Smith had called a rideshare that was scheduled to arrive just after the shooting. Johnson was taken into custody and admitted Smith never hit her, according to prosecutors.
She was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault/family violence, two counts of third-degree cruelty to children, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the DA’s office said.
The judge sentenced her under the Georgia First Offender Act and she was also given 10 years of probation. Prosecutors said they requested Johnson be given 25 years in prison due to the “brutal nature of the crime.”
Sterling said the jury rejected the state’s case that Johnson acted “intentionally and with malice,” and that “the court is aware of critical issues that make the likelihood of motion for new trial and appeal cognizable.”
He added, “Accordingly, the court permitted Ms. Johnson to remain out on bond while the appeal is pending. Unfortunately, the State never saw Ms. Johnson as a victim of domestic violence and failed to protect her even though she sought police protection time and time again. Our system has to do better to avoid tragedies like this in the future.”
It’s unclear how long the house arrest could continue.
“There is no specific timeframe for the appeals process,” Myers said. “It could take months or even years.”
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