VALDOSTA MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR DEADLY SHOOTING INSIDE SOUTH DEKALB RESTAURANT

Friday, September 26, 2025

State v. James Elderidge Scott

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a Valdosta man accused of a shooting inside a restaurant at South DeKalb Mall that injured three people and killed one.

On Wednesday, September 24, 2025, jurors found James Elderidge Scott, 49, guilty of Malice Murder; two counts of Felony Murder; Aggravated Assault; Possession of a Firearm After Having Been Convicted of Certain Felonies; three counts of Aggravated Assault Weapon; four counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony; and Giving False Name, Address or Birthdate to a Law Enforcement Officer in connection with the shooting on June 10, 2022.

During a sentencing hearing held today, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Scott to Life Without the Possibility of Parole, plus 96 years.

According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded at around 11:30 p.m. to a report of a shooting inside a restaurant and bar at South DeKalb Mall. When they arrived, police found four people suffering from gunshot wounds and paramedics transported them to various hospitals for treatment. One of the victims, Daletavious McGuire, 48, did not survive.

Investigators interviewed the surviving victims and learned they were at the restaurant celebrating McGuire's mother for her 71^st birthday. One of the victims was at the party with his fiancée when a man, later identified as Defendant Scott, brushed up against her. The victim confronted Scott and they began arguing. Several people witnessed the argument and tried to calm things down, but Defendant Scott reached into his pants, pulled out a gun, and shot the man. Scott then continued firing randomly into the restaurant.

The entire incident inside the restaurant was captured on surveillance video. In the video, Defendant Scott was recorded wearing a high visibility vest and a wide-brimmed straw hat.

After firing multiple rounds, Defendant Scott grabbed a pitcher of beer from a table and walked into the parking lot. Police found multiple cars in the parking lot had also been shot at.

The following day, a mall security guard found a neon vest and straw hat on the sidewalk that appeared to match what the shooter was wearing. Investigators swabbed the items for DNA and submitted them to the GBI Crime Lab for testing.

Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta published still images of the suspect from the surveillance video, and an anonymous tipster identified the shooter as James E. Scott. Law enforcement arrested Defendant Scott on June 28, 2022, and his DNA matched the DNA from the straw hat.

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jasmine Atakora, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Farrah Shawarby, District Attorney Investigator Tia Johnson, and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer. DeKalb County Police Department Detective B.R. Smith led the initial investigation.