Decatur Man Gets Life in Prison for Killing 28-Year-Old With Ghost Gun

DECATUR, Ga. – A 27-year-old Decatur man has been sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted him of fatally shooting a man with a ghost gun during a confrontation at an apartment complex.

Azavier Lilly was convicted Aug. 28 of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the March 6, 2025, death of 28-year-old Rashad Walker.

Immediately following the verdict, DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Shondeana C. Morris sentenced Lilly to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

DeKalb County police responded around 10:30 p.m. to an apartment complex on Candler Road in unincorporated Decatur following a report of a shooting.

Officers found Walker lying in the breezeway of an apartment building with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Crime scene investigators recovered four 9mm shell casings.

According to prosecutors, Walker and his girlfriend had been arguing after he took her phone. The dispute became physical, with Walker and his girlfriend exchanging blows as several people gathered nearby.

After the fight ended, Walker’s girlfriend went into a friend’s apartment to cool off. A short time later, she heard multiple gunshots.

Surveillance video showed four men who had witnessed the fight confront Walker in the breezeway, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.

The men began attacking Walker, and Lilly opened fire, killing him, prosecutors said.

Investigators never recovered the firearm used in the shooting.

However, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation technician testified during Lilly’s trial that bullets recovered in the homicide were fired from a ghost gun.

Ghost guns are privately assembled firearms that can be made using components purchased individually or in kits and may lack serial numbers used to trace commercially manufactured firearms.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Andrew Turner with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Ellie Harris, District Attorney Investigator Brent Minton and Supervising Victim Advocate Millicent Taylor. DeKalb County Police Detective Kearney led the initial investigation.