Two gang members convicted in murder of trans woman, now one on the run

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—DeKalb County officials are seeking the public’s help in locating Davonte Fore, 26, a fugitive wanted in connection with the murder of a Stone Mountain transgender woman.

On Friday, Oct. 4, jurors found Fore and JaQuan Brooks, 25, guilty 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 stemming from the shooting death of Skyler Gilmore (legal name Chase Gilmore), 25, on June 4, 2021.

Brooks was taken immediately into custody. Fore, who had been released on bond in February 2024,   didn’t show up on Friday, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston’s office stated.

In a separate DeKalb County case, a Norcross man, Pedro Silva-Renteria, 21, also was found guilty on Friday, Oct. 4, on murder charges stemming from the shooting death of a trans woman, Sophie Vasquez (legal name Juan Vasquez), 36, on May 4, 2021. Silva-Renteria is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 8.

According to the investigation, the fatal shooting that involved gang members Fore and Brooks took place just before 2 a.m. on June 4, 2021, at an apartment complex located in the 1400 block of South Hairston Road in Stone Mountain. DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) officers responded to a person shot call and found Gilmore unresponsive in the bedroom with a single gunshot wound to the torso.  She did not survive her injuries, authorities said.

The woman who called 911 to report the shooting was on scene and spoke with police.  She said she was a friend of Gilmore’s and had been on the phone with her just before the shooting.  The woman said Gilmore told her she needed to hang up because she was getting a call from the front gate of the apartment complex.  Gilmore then called her friend back and said she had been shot.  The friend rushed to Gilmore’s apartment to try to help and dialed 911.

Gilmore’s friend told investigators that Gilmore identified as a transgender woman and was involved in survival sex, a form of prostitution where someone engages in sex in exchange for basic necessities such as food or shelter.

Using data from Gilmore’s cell phone, investigators were able to identify a phone number that had communicated with her through calls and texts multiple times in the hour before the shooting, including a text where Gilmore sent the recipient the gate code.  Investigators linked that phone number to Defendant Fore.

Detectives pulled surveillance video that showed two people inside a white Nissan Rogue entering the apartment complex’s gate at 1:39 a.m. The video showed the driver as Defendant Brooks.  The passenger, whose face was also visible, was later identified as Defendant Fore.

Through the investigation, detectives learned Defendant Brooks and Defendant Fore were members of a local gang, which ordered them to murder Gilmore after it was discovered she was sleeping with another member of the gang.

Immediately following the guilty verdicts, Brooks was taken into custody.

Fore was arrested in November 2022, but despite the state’s opposition, was released on bond in February 2024 pending trial.  While he was present for the beginning of the trial, Fore failed to return to court and is now considered a fugitive from justice.  DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk, who presided over the trial, revoked Fore’s bond and issued a bench warrant for his arrest.  Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit at 404-298-8402.

Judge Polk will schedule a sentencing hearing for both defendants in the coming weeks.

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Friedman with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Kelsey Devitto, District Attorney Investigators Curtis Averhart, A. Zachary and Christopher Usiak, and Victim Advocate Millicent Taylor.  DeKalb County Police Department Det. Redrick led the initial investigation.