The following was taken from a press release distributed by the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney – Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit on May 31, 2024:
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – Two men have been convicted and sentenced for their involvement in a shootout in a parking lot that led to a man’s death.
On March 22, a jury found Jermel Campbell, 30, and Trayvon Williams, 29, each guilty of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, four counts of Aggravated Assault and Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony in connection with the death of Kevin Mcleod-Downer, 26.
Today, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Stacey Hydrick, who presided over the trial, sentenced both Defendants Campbell and Williams to Life in prison plus 25 years to serve consecutively.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in the late evening hours of September 29, 2019 in the parking lot of The Mall at Stonecrest.
According to the investigation, Mcleod-Downer, his girlfriend and two friends were hanging out at Round1 Bowling & Arcade. The defendants, who were also at Round1 with a large group, could be seen on surveillance video throughout the evening displaying gang hand signs to various people.
At one point, members of the defendants’ group attempted to hit on Mcleod-Downer’s girlfriend. When she didn’t respond to their advances, they took it as a sign of disrespect. As Mcleod-Downer and his group were leaving the facility, there was a verbal altercation between the two groups.
After the argument the victim’s group walked towards their vehicle, and video surveillance shows a member of the defendants’ group re-entering Round1. Shortly after, the defendants’ entire group went outside to the parking lot.
When the victims became aware of the large group coming towards them, they began running to their car and a friend of Mcleod-Downer retrieved a firearm from the vehicle. Before he could use it, Defendant Campbell fired 15 shots in their direction while they took cover behind the car. Defendant Williams is also seen on surveillance video getting a firearm from his car and exchanging gunfire with the victim’s friend.
During the shootout, Defendant Campbell ran to Defendant Williams, took the gun from him, and continued shooting towards the victims. Campbell fired the fatal shot that killed Mcleod-Downer as Mcleod-Downer shielded his girlfriend from the gunfire.
As the defendants’ group fled the scene, Taron Williams shot multiple times in the direction of the victims from one of the fleeing cars. Taron Williams, who was set to be tried with Defendant Campbell and Defendant Trayvon Williams (unrelated to Taron Williams), did not appear for trial. He was taken into custody on a bench warrant on March 18, 2024 and will be tried at a later date.
The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Josh Geller with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Hannah Pendergast, DA Supervising Investigator Jacques Spencer, and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer. DeKalb County Police Department Detective Tappan led the initial investigation.
