Decatur, GA woman found guilty in shooting death of neighbor

DECATUR, GA— Aziza El-Shair, 41, has been found guilty of killing a man who was her neighbor after an argument. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherri Boston announced that a jury on Friday, Nov. 3, found El-Shair guilty on charges of Voluntary Manslaughter, two counts of Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.

The incident occurred on May 29, 2019. Officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded just after 3 p.m. to a report of a person shot on Weslock Circle in unincorporated Decatur.  When they arrived, officers found Derrick Pharr, 33, lying on the ground with a gunshot wound.  Paramedics transported Pharr to the hospital where he died of his injuries.

According to the investigation, El-Shair’s then-husband was missing his gun.  He went to Pharr’s parents’ house down the street because he falsely believed that Pharr had stolen the gun, and told a relative there that Pharr needed to come to his house.  Shortly after Pharr arrived outside of El-Shair’s house, El-Shair pulled up in her car, became angry that Pharr was there, grabbed her gun, fired a shot into the air and demanded that he leave.

Pharr left, but when he arrived at his parents’ home, he noticed El-Shair had followed him.  As Pharr got out of his car, El-Shair, still angry, fired multiple shots at him, hitting him once.  Pharr fired back at El-Shair, but did not hit her.  Witnesses saw El-Shair put several shell casings into a nearby storm drain, authorities said.  She drove around the block and returned to the scene and waited there until police took her into custody.

DeKalb County Senior Judge Winston Bethel, who presided over the trial, will schedule a sentencing hearing for El-Shair in the coming weeks.

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Connor Payne with assistance from Senior ADA Eleanor Friedman, DA Investigator Michael Sheppard, and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer.  DeKalb County Police Department Sgt. L. B. Shuler led the initial investigation.