On a late summer evening in Stone Mountain, Georgia, the life of 20-year-old De’Andre Jones was tragically cut short. On August 29, 2020, Jones was at a Chevron gas station on Rockbridge Road, a place he was known to frequent. Unbeknownst to him, a man with whom he had previous interactions, 30-year-old Jedidja Mbungu, had arrived at the same location with violent intentions.
Mbungu was wearing a ballistic vest under his shirt and was carrying a firearm.
The two men encountered each other on Rockbridge Road, where a brief but tense moment passed between them before Jones continued to walk away. Eyewitnesses, including a security guard, reported seeing Mbungu pointing at Jones and making comments. Shortly after their silent exchange, Mbungu ran after Jones, shouting at him before fatally shooting him in the back of the head. When police arrived, they found Jones unarmed and lying in the gas station parking lot.
The investigation into the death of De’Andre Jones quickly pointed to Jedidja Mbungu as the primary suspect. Several witnesses provided a description of the shooter, and the incident was captured on surveillance footage. Law enforcement was already familiar with Mbungu from previous altercations. A few days after the shooting, on September 4, 2020, Mbungu’s family facilitated his surrender to the DeKalb County Jail.
Jedidja Mbungu was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. During his trial, he was acquitted of the malice murder charge but was found guilty of the other charges by a DeKalb County jury. In October 2023, Mbungu was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus an additional five years for the gun charge.
