Woman, twin brothers who lured man online convicted in DeKalb County armed robbery case

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in the case against three defendants accused of setting up and then robbing a man in Stone Mountain.

Jurors returned guilty verdicts on Monday, Jan. 29, against Darnell Reed, 30, of Stone Mountain, on charges of Armed Robbery, False Imprisonment, Aggravated Assault and two counts of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.  Jurors found his twin brother Donnell Reed, 30, also of Stone Mountain, guilty on charges of Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, False Imprisonment and Possession of a Firearm by a First Offender Probationer.  Christin Scales, 24, of Atlanta was found guilty of Armed Robbery.  All of the charges stemmed from an incident on Oct. 6, 2021.

According to the investigation, the male victim met Scales online and they made plans to meet up so that he could pay her for sex.  When he arrived at the address on Parkview Court in Stone Mountain around 7 a.m., Scales instructed the man to park away from the building.

As Scales and the victim were preparing to have sex, she kept delaying.  The victim began to protest Scales’ stall tactics and tried to leave, but then Donnell and Darnell Reed emerged from one of the unit’s bedrooms armed with guns.  Donnell Reed struck the victim with his gun and demanded the victim’s car keys.  Darnell Reed then held the victim at gunpoint while his brother and Scales drove off in the man’s car.  The pair then abandoned the car in a nearby residential area after rummaging through it.

While Scales and Donnell Reed were gone, the victim took Darnell Reed by surprise and tried to grab the gun.  As the men struggled, the gun went off, striking Darnell Reed in the finger and left thigh.

The victim used that opportunity to escape, but Darnell Reed shot the man in the back as he ran out of the door.  The victim yelled for help as he ran from the condominium prompting neighbors and a MARTA bus driver to call 911.  Officers from the DeKalb County Police Department and Clarkston Police Department found the injured man at a nearby intersection.

A neighbor’s surveillance camera captured Darnell Reed as he left the condo and limped across the parking lot to his mother and sister’s unit in the same complex. Scales and Donnell Reed picked up Darnell and took him to a nearby gas station.  Defendant Donnell Reed called 911 and when the ambulance arrived, he and Defendant Scales left.  Defendant Darnell Reed gave law enforcement officers conflicting stories about how he was shot.

The victim was able to identify Scales and Donnell Reed in a photo line-up, authorities said.

Immediately following the guilty verdicts, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson, who presided over the trial, sentenced Scales to 15 years to serve 10 in confinement with the balance on probation.  The judge sentenced Darnell Reed to 30 years to serve 20 in confinement and the remaining 10 on probation. Donnell Reed’s sentencing hearing is scheduled Feb. 9.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Tarver with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Li Sapp, District Attorney Investigator Jose Berrones, and Victim Advocate Desiree Livingston. Former DeKalb County Police Department Detective Edwin Perkins, now with the District Attorney’s Office, led the initial investigation.