DeKalb County Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Violent Home Invasion

DECATUR, GA – A DeKalb County jury has found Jimmy David Mills, 60, guilty of a violent home invasion and stabbing that occurred in Brookhaven on September 17, 2020. Immediately following the verdict on Thursday, July 31, 2025, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson sentenced Mills to Life in Prison plus 26 years to be served consecutively.

Mills was convicted of Home Invasion in the First Degree, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Knife During the Commission of Certain Felonies, and Criminal Trespass.

According to the investigation by the Brookhaven Police Department, at around 4 p.m. on the day of the incident, a couple with a baby at home received a security notification that their back door had been opened. The wife, who was in the shower, called out after hearing someone inside. The defendant, Mills, entered the bathroom and asked her if she was alone. The woman’s husband, working in a different room, heard her screaming and confronted Mills.

A struggle ensued, which moved into the kitchen. Mills, who had brought a knife with him, followed the husband and began attacking him, stabbing him in the stomach and face and slashing his arms. Mills then fled the home.

Police located a knife behind a concrete wall Mills had jumped. A blood trail was found leading to the back door of a nearby home. A witness also reported seeing a shirtless man, who was later identified as Mills, walking down the street. Police located and detained Mills, who was holding his bloody shirt.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Eliazette Johnson and Assistant District Attorney Miriam Broussard. Detective Orange of the Brookhaven Police Department led the initial investigation.