On a Tuesday afternoon in March 2015, a 38-year-old construction worker named Joshua Richey was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Kroger on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Richey, a father of four from Alabama, had been working on a construction job at the grocery store. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. when Richey and a co-worker noticed someone breaking into his work truck.
As Richey approached his truck to confront the individual, he slapped his hand on the window to
get the person's attention. The suspect, who was inside the vehicle, then shot Richey through the window. The shooter and an accomplice fled the scene in a black BMW with tinted windows. Richey's co-worker, Jason Shelton, was with him at the time and held his dying friend in his arms after he was shot. Investigators believed that Richey was targeted for his work truck and the construction equipment inside it. The handgun used in the shooting was believed to be Richey's own, which he kept in his truck for protection.
The investigation led police to identify two suspects: Demarius Thompson and Shontavious Chestnut. A tip from Crime Stoppers regarding the getaway car seen in surveillance footage helped authorities locate Thompson. Thompson, then 25, was arrested on March 26, 2015, while he was eating lunch at a Popeyes restaurant. He had been released from prison just three days prior to the fatal shooting. On April 9, 25-year-old Shontavious Chestnut was arrested in Pensacola, Florida, by the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force. Chestnut was identified as the driver of the getaway vehicle.
In June 2015, a Fulton County grand jury indicted both Thompson and Chestnut on multiple counts, including felony murder. Thompson faced charges of murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, among others. Chestnut was indicted on charges including felony murder and hindering the apprehension of a criminal. During the trial in May 2016, Demarius Thompson chose to represent himself. A jury ultimately convicted both men. Thompson was found guilty of felony murder, murder, entering an automobile, and aggravated assault. He received two life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 40 years for other charges. Shontavious Chestnut was found guilty of entering an automobile and criminal attempt to enter an automobile.
