DeKalb County: Second man convicted in brutal murder/robbery

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in the case against Dwayne Brewer, 28, accused in the murder of a man whom he and his roommate, Carlos Ivey, 27, lured into a fake drug deal with the intention of robbing him. The two men beat the 29-year-old victim with a hammer and suffocated him to death.

Jurors returned guilty verdicts on Thursday, Oct. 26, against Brewer on charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Robbery by Force, False Imprisonment, three counts of Tampering with Evidence, Concealing the Death of Another, and Burglary in the First stemming from an incident on August 16, 2020.

Co-Defendant Ivey pled guilty to a reduced charge of Voluntary Manslaughter, Robbery by Force, Concealing the Death of Another, and Burglary in the First on March 10, 2021 and received a sentence of 30 years to serve in custody.

According to the investigation, Ivey lured the victim, Andrew Keegan, 29, to the home he shared with Brewer and a third roommate on Shadowridge Drive SE in Atlanta. Brewer and Ivey intended to rob him under the guise of purchasing drugs.

Keegan arrived on his motorcycle. The two men attacked him, hitting him with a hammer and suffocating him to death.

Defendants Brewer and Ivey hid Keegan’s body in their basement until their roommate went to sleep. The two men then drove to a nearby park and buried Keegan in a shallow grave in a wooded area, concealing his death for five months.

Surveillance footage from a neighbor was crucial to solving the case and showed Brewer and Ivey leaving multiple times in the early morning hours of Aug. 17, 2020 to dispose of evidence and Keegan’s body.

The next day, the men traveled to Keegan’s apartment on North Candler Street in Decatur to steal drugs and approximately $20,000.

On Aug. 20, 2020, the surveillance footage captured a U-Haul rented by Brewer arriving at their home and recorded the sound of a motorcycle being loaded onto the truck. On August 21, a Gwinnett County Police Officer discovered the motorcycle hidden in some brush with the tag removed. That same day, the defendants traveled to Tybee Island. On their way back to Atlanta on August 23, they disposed of Keegan’s stolen property including a safe, a shotgun and a pistol. The safe was eventually recovered by divers in Magnolia Springs State Park.

On Sept. 8, 2020, Brewer and Ivey purchased one-way tickets to Puerto Rico where they were apprehended on October 4, 2020 and extradited.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Stacey Hydrick, who presided over the trial, sentenced Brewer to life in prison plus 90 years.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Shannon Hodder with assistance from ADA Reid White, DA Investigator Christopher Franklin, and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer. Former Decatur Police Department Criminal Investigator Tiffany Edwards, now with the District Attorney’s Office, led the initial investigation which was transferred to and concluded by Detective B. R. Smith with the DeKalb County Police Department.