In the early morning hours of August 6, 2014, the quiet of a Duluth, Georgia neighborhood was shattered by a violent home invasion. Inside a rental home on Summercrest Lane, 37-year-old Adam Schrier, a male, was confronted by several armed men who burst in just after 6 a.m. The intrusion led to a fatal struggle, during which Schrier was shot and killed. The violence did not end with his death; his girlfriend, Jamie Smith, and her 8-year-old daughter were also shot, though they both survived their injuries. A second child in the home, a 4-year-old girl, was physically unharmed. The initial 911 call was made by the wounded woman at 6:20 a.m.
Investigators quickly determined that the home invasion was not a random act of violence but a targeted attack motivated by illegal narcotics. The suspects were reportedly looking for money and drugs, believing Schrier was in possession of them. It was later revealed that the intruders were attempting to recover a significant quantity of methamphetamine that Schrier had allegedly taken from a drug trafficker. Though Schrier was involved in drugs, authorities believed the suspects may have been looking for another man who had been at the residence days prior.
The investigation led to the identification of six suspects involved in the deadly home invasion. Arrests followed, including those of Jonathan Julius Pichardo and Pierre Cedric Scott. Police also sought Brian Joseph Brewner, Devon Antonio Jenkins, and James Leroy Stokes. A sixth suspect was already incarcerated on unrelated charges. Brewner was identified as the ringleader who orchestrated the robbery, though he was not physically present during the attack. Jenkins was named as the alleged triggerman who shot Schrier in the chest.
The legal process brought several of the perpetrators to justice. Brian Joseph Brewner was convicted of murder under Georgia's 'party to a crime' statute, which holds an accomplice as guilty as the person who commits the crime. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 55 years. Devon Jenkins was convicted of felony murder, among other charges. Pierre Scott and James Stokes were acquitted of murder but convicted on other serious charges, including aggravated assault, burglary, and armed robbery. Scott received a sentence of life in prison plus five years, while Stokes was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
