Georgia native and former champion boxer Vernon Forrest’s life was cut short in 2009 when he was robbed and gunned down near a gas station in Atlanta’s Mechanicsville neighborhood.
The slaying of the 38-year-old, who ran a nonprofit group home for people with disabilities, stunned the community as police worked to establish a motive and track down the people responsible.
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
Forrest’s murder will be highlighted in the season premiere of ‘The Real Murders of Atlanta’ this weekend on Oxygen. Now in its third season, the true crime series highlights high-profile and bizarre killings from across metro Atlanta. The show features interviews with homicide detectives and victims’ loved ones.
Forrest died July 25, 2009, after being robbed and shot repeatedly in the back, authorities said at the time. The brazen killing of a former boxing champion garnered national headlines.
Within a month, thanks to witness cooperation and a little luck, detectives charged three people: Jquante Crews, 25 at the time, DeMario Ware, who was 20, and 30-year-old Charmon Sinkfield.
Forrest had stopped at a convenience store on Whitehall Street in southwest Atlanta sometime after 11 p.m. to put air in the tires of his Jaguar. While his 11-year-old godson went into the store for snacks, police said Ware approached Forrest with his gun drawn and demanded his gold Rolex watch and custom diamond ring.
Forrest pulled his own gun and began chasing Ware, shooting at the 20-year-old, authorities said. When Ware escaped, Forrest encountered Sinkfield near the corner of Fulton and McDaniel streets, according to police. The two talked, then the boxer turned to walk away.
That’s when authorities said Sinkfield shot Forrest in the back at least seven times.
One major break in the case came because Ware unknowingly walked in front of a surveillance camera, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time.
Cameras recording at the convenience store and a nearby apartment building showed Ware fleeing from Forrest. Ware eventually ran into a nearby apartment complex, where the security camera caught his face and later showed him getting into a red getaway car.
Ware turned himself in shortly after Forrest’s funeral, and police later tracked down the remaining two suspects.
Credit: Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com
Credit: Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com
South Fulton Police Chief Keith Meadows was working as an Atlanta homicide detective at the time. One issue investigators encountered was that Sinkfield, the gunman, had a twin brother, Meadows told the AJC shortly after the arrests.
“We had the darndest time figuring out which one was our guy,” he said.
Fortunately for police, Sinkfield’s twin was serving a six-year sentence for weapons charges at a federal prison in Salters, South Carolina, which ruled him out as a suspect.
“He had an alibi,” Meadows said.
Former Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard initially sought the death penalty for the suspects, though all three men ultimately were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The show about Forrest’s murder and the ensuing investigation airs at 9 p.m. Saturday on Oxygen True Crime.
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