In the late afternoon of August 17, 2021, a drug transaction in the Orchard Park shopping center on Dunwoody Club Drive in Sandy Springs, Georgia, turned violent, ending the life of 22-year-old Yemi Ezekiel Mabiaku. During the course of the transaction, which involved a large quantity of marijuana, shots were fired. Mabiaku was struck five times in the back, and another individual was also wounded but survived.
Emergency services were called to the scene around 5:20 p.m., but Mabiaku succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting led the Sandy Springs Police Department to identify Davonte Lavonne Childs, then 27, as the primary suspect. A warrant for his arrest was issued the day after the fatal incident. For the next two and a half years, Childs remained a fugitive, with investigators from both Georgia and Ohio working to locate him. The case gained further attention when Childs was featured as a Fugitive of the Week.
In early January 2024, law enforcement received information that Childs was hiding in Euclid, Ohio. On February 1, 2024, members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, along with local law enforcement including the Euclid Police Department and EDGE SWAT, converged on a residence on Tungston Avenue where Childs was believed to be located. When officers approached the home, Childs pointed a handgun at them, leading to a standoff. After a period of negotiation, he surrendered to the authorities without further incident. Two firearms were recovered from inside the residence. Childs was taken into custody and is awaiting extradition back to Georgia to face charges for the homicide of Yemi Ezekiel Mabiaku.
