Decatur man, 27, sentenced to life in “ghost gun” murder of man after argument escalated with female

DEKALB County, GA— A Decatur man has been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the “ghost gun” murder of Rashad Walker, 28, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced on Sept. 2. 

A jury found Azavier Lilly, 27, guilty on 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. Investigators said that Lilly fire multiple shots, killing Walker.

DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Shondeana C. Morris, who presided over the trial, sentenced Lilly to Life in Prison with the Possibility of Parole  in connection with Walker ‘s death on March 6, 2025. 

According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded around 10:30 p.m. to a report of a person shot at an apartment complex on Candler Road in unincorporated Decatur.  When officers arrived, they found Walker lying in the breezeway of an apartment building with multiple gunshot wounds.  First responders pronounced Walker dead on the scene. 

Crime scene investigators recovered four 9mm shell casings from the immediate area.  According to witnesses, Walker and his girlfriend were arguing because he had taken her phone.  The fight escalated into a physical altercation, during which Walker and his girlfriend exchanged blows, drawing a crowd of onlookers.  After the fight ended, Walker’s girlfriend went into a friend’s apartment to cool off and a short time later, she heard multiple gunshots.

Surveillance video from the apartment complex showed four men who witnessed the fight between Walker and his girlfriend confront Walker in the breezeway.  They began to attack him and one of the men, later identified as Defendant Lilly, opened fire, killing Walker.

Investigators were not able to recover the gun used in the shooting, but a technician from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified at trial that the bullets recovered from the murder came from a “ghost gun,” a firearm assembled from components purchased in a kit or as individual pieces that do not have serial numbers and cannot be traced. 

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, 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 Department Detective Kearney led the initial investigation.