Lithonia Man Convicted of Shooting Wife After Divorce Filing, Sentenced to 70 Years

On January 13, 2025, a DeKalb County jury convicted 33-year-old Dmante Dontrell Anderson of multiple charges, including Aggravated Assault—Family Violence, False Imprisonment, Simple Battery—Family Violence, and more, following a shooting incident involving his wife.

Anderson was found guilty of shooting his wife on June 14, 2019, after she had filed for divorce earlier that day. The jury convicted him on two counts of Aggravated Assault—Family Violence, two counts of Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Use of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon During the Commission of a Felony.

According to the investigation, DeKalb County Police responded around 9:40 p.m. to a shooting report at an apartment complex on Concepts 21 Drive in Lithonia. Officers found the victim bleeding profusely in front of her apartment. Anderson was standing nearby with one of their children. The victim immediately told officers her husband had shot her, while Anderson claimed she had shot herself.

Paramedics transported the victim to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she revealed to investigators that Anderson had become enraged after learning about the divorce filing. When she came home, he attacked her, accusing her of infidelity, before shooting her in the cheek and fracturing multiple bones in her face. Their children were present and witnessed the violence.

Judge Daniel Coursey, who presided over the trial, sentenced Anderson to 70 years in prison, with 63 years to be served in confinement, and the balance on probation.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Garrett Emmons, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Ryan Patrick, District Attorney Investigator Jerad Wheeler, and Victim Advocate Ashley King. Detective Evans of the DeKalb County Police Department led the investigation.