07/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/09/2025 14:45
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
State v. Jakari Naki Childs
Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a Stockbridge teenager who shot and killed another teen outside a restaurant.
On Friday, June 20, 2025, a jury found Jakari Naki Childs, 18, guilty of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Pistol or Revolver by a Person Under 18 Years Old in connection with the fatal shooting on July 15, 2023.
During a sentencing hearing held today, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Stacey K. Hydrick, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Childs to Life with the Possibility of Parole, plus six years to be served consecutively.
According to the investigation, just before noon officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a report of a person shot at the IHOP restaurant at 3020 Panola Road in Lithonia. When they arrived, police found the victim, Jacob Johnson, 16, lying on the ground outside the front entrance of the restaurant with a gunshot wound to the head.
Officers spoke to an employee at the restaurant who witnessed the shooting. She told police the shooter was her ex-boyfriend, Defendant Childs, who was 16 years old at the time. She explained that Childs showed up at the restaurant unannounced looking for her. Johnson, who was best friends with the young woman, also worked at the IHOP and notified her about Childs' arrival. All three teens attended school together.
Defendant Childs walked back out of the restaurant and several other employees noticed that Childs was armed with a handgun. Defendant Childs' former girlfriend went outside to look for Childs and asked him to leave the restaurant. Defendant Childs immediately shot Johnson, who was standing next to Childs' ex-girlfriend. She ran to a nearby business and asked employees to call 911. Johnson did not survive.
The case, assigned to the SB 440 Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Buffy Thomas, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Jordan Riser, District Attorney Investigator Jacqueline Robinson, Victim Advocate Tonesha Bivins and Victim Advocate Chloe Elster. DeKalb County Police Department Detective V.T. Redrick led the initial investigation.