Man gets life for killing friend over $1,600 debt outside Stonecrest sports bar

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case of a Clayton County man who shot and killed a friend over an unpaid loan. 

On Friday, Aug. 15, jurors found Shiva Vereen, 52, guilty of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony in connection with the shooting death of Andrew Carpenter, 45.

According to the investigation, officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call of a person shot around 3:15 a.m. on Feb. 13, 2023, at a sports bar on Evans Mill Road in the City of Stonecrest. Officers found Carpenter deceased in the parking lot with several gunshot wounds.

Surveillance video shows that an individual, later identified as Defendant Vereen, arrived at the location at 2:30 a.m. and confronted Carpenter inside the bar. Defendant Vereen and the victim moved outside and sat in Carpenter’s SUV for 40 minutes.

After the two men exited the SUV, Carpenter stood by the vehicle drinking and talking to friends. Defendant Vereen walked to his car, grabbed a gun, and walked back to the victim. Vereen shot Carpenter eight times, then fled the scene. Three weeks later, he was arrested in Texas on the outstanding warrant for Carpenter’s murder after being pulled over for driving with a fake dealership tag on his car. 

During the trial, Defendant Vereen said he victim pulled a gun and threatened Vereen’s family while they were together in the vehicle, and that he acted in self-defense and in defense of his family. Defendant Vereen also said he have blacked out during the shooting.  

Text messages between the defendant and the victim over the previous months showed that Defendant Vereen was angry with Carpenter because he owed him $1,600.

Immediately following the guilty verdict, Judge Alan C. Harvey, who presided over the trial sitting for the DeKalb County Superior Court, sentenced Defendant Vereen to Life in prison, plus five years to serve consecutively. 

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit was prosecuted by Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney Josh Geller, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Connor Payne, District Attorney Investigator Tiffany Edwards, and Victim Advocate Amina Abdul-Muhaymin. DeKalb County Police Department Detective C. Heavner led the initial investigation.