LITHONIA MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING WOMAN HE WAS DATING, SHOOTING CAPTURED ON 911 CALL

Friday, November 6, 2026

State v. Antonio Robert Watson

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces the conviction by jury trial of a Lithonia man accused of shooting and killing a woman who he was dating through the window of her extended stay motel room while he was on the phone with 911.

On November 5, 2026, a jury found Antonio Robert Watson, 38, guilty of Malice Murder, three counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Home Invasion in the First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of a Firearm After Having Been Convicted of Certain Felonies in connection with the death of Shalileha Alford, 30, on April 15, 2025.

According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded just before 8 a.m. to a report of a person shot at an extended stay motel located on Crescent Centre Boulevard in Tucker. When officers arrived, they found Alford lying unconscious in the bathtub. Police saw three shell casings and shattered glass on the sidewalk in front of the room, as well as more shell casings inside the room.

Before law enforcement arrived a man, who identified himself as "Robert," called 911 and told the dispatcher that Alford had robbed him and her dog had bit him. Then the 911 recording captured the sound of multiple shots being fired and the caller claimed Alford had shot at him. Records showed the phone number used to make the 911 call belonged to Defendant Watson.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the motel that showed a dark gray Nisson Altima registered to Defendant Watson arriving in the parking lot at 7:35 a.m. At 7:45 a.m. a man matching Watson's description was recorded getting out of the Altima and walking to Alford's room. Cameras captured Defendant Watson knock on the door of the motel room. Alford could be seen pulling back the curtains of the window to look outside, but she did not open the door of the room. Minutes later, Defendant Watson, now on the phone with 911, took a handgun out of his pocket and fired multiple shots into the window, shattering the glass. He then went through the broken window into the room, fired several more shots, ran back to his car, and left the motel.

Surveillance video from the shooting directly contradicted Defendant Watson's claim that Alford had shot at him. She died of her injuries a little more than an hour later.

During their investigation, police learned that Alford had called 911 the day before the shooting to report Defendant Watson had assaulted her. She told officers that Watson had forced his way into her motel room, punched her repeatedly and hit her in the head with a handgun. Alford explained that Defendant Watson, whom she had been casually dating, had threated to shoot her in the face.

Hours after the shooting, a Georgia State Patrol trooper spotted Defendant Watson's car and attempted to pull him over on Memorial Drive near Candler Road. Instead of stopping, Defendant Watson led the trooper on a brief chase that ended when GSP executed a PIT maneuver and took Watson into custody without further incident.

Immediately after the guilty verdict, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Watson to serve Life in Prison without the Possibility of Parole plus 20 years.

The case, assigned to the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Ashley Johnson with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Aaron L. Brown, District Attorney Investigator J. Justus and Victim Advocates Ashley King, Shelbie Rainwater and Veronica Pelaez-Maya. DeKalb County Police Department Detectives Posey and Kearney led the initial investigation.