In the quiet evening of July 27, 2015, 81-year-old Mildred Martin was enjoying a simple pleasure of life, a game of cards on her screened-in porch in her northwest Atlanta neighborhood. It was a routine she cherished, a peaceful way to pass the time with her neighbors on Proctor Street. But this particular Monday night, her peaceful world was shattered in an instant.
A stray bullet, fired from a distance, pierced through the screen and struck the elderly woman in the back, ending her life as she sat in her chair.
Known affectionately as 'Ms. Mildred' in her community, she was a woman who had lived in her home for three decades and was known for her kindness and generosity, often providing food and water to those in need. Her death was not the result of a direct confrontation but rather the tragic consequence of gunfire exchanged nearby. The bullet that killed her was believed to have been fired from about 150 yards away, an unintended consequence of a dispute that had nothing to do with her.
In the days that followed, the Atlanta Police Department launched an investigation that quickly led to the identification of suspects. On July 30, 2015, officers apprehended the first suspect, Johnny Maurice Avery. Just days later, on August 4, a second suspect, Dominique Lamonta Bryant, was taken into custody by the Atlanta Police Department's Fugitive Unit with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals South East Regional Fugitive Task Force. Both men were charged with felony murder in connection with Mrs. Martin's death and were booked into the Fulton County Jail.
The investigation suggested the shooting stemmed from a possible drug-related turf war. In October 2015, a Fulton County grand jury indicted both Johnny Maurice Avery and Dominique Lamonta Bryant on charges of murder, aggravated assault, and weapon charges for their roles in the senseless killing of Mildred Martin. The community mourned the loss of a woman described as a pillar of her neighborhood, her life tragically cut short by a conflict she had no part in.
