Decatur man sentenced to life after fatally shooting man in ex-girlfriend’s driveway

DECATUR, GA—DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by jury trial in the case against a Decatur man accused of gunning down a man who gave his ex-girlfriend a ride home from work.     

A jury found Aaron La Var Beckles, 49, guilty on charges of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon stemming from the murder of Isaac Jackson, Jr., 47, on Dec. 4, 2024. 

According to the investigation, Beckles had been involved in a tumultuous romantic relationship with a woman for several months.  On the morning of the shooting, the woman blocked Beckles on her cell phone, but he continued to call and text her asking to see her and she ignored him. 

That evening, Jackson, a friend of the woman, drove her home from work. Jackson pulled into the driveway where he and the woman sat and ate takeout for dinner.  After finishing the meal, the woman got out of the car to go inside and noticed that Beckles had pulled into the driveway blocking in Jackson’s car.

Beckles got out of his car and confronted his ex-girlfriend, knocking the takeout boxes in her hands to the ground.  The woman ran to the house and as she waited for a family member to open the front door, she saw Beckles chasing Jackson. She then heard two gunshots and rushed inside where she heard several more shots, investigators said.

The woman and her family called 911 and identified the shooter as Beckles. When officers from the DeKalb County Police Department arrived a short time later, they found Jackson, deceased.  Beckles had left the scene. 

Police arrested Beckles two days later.  A search of his phone revealed he had texted the woman minutes before the shooting to say “either call me back or I’m about to pull up.” Beckles also texted the woman after the shooting saying, “I’m sorry i love you call me please.”  Cell phone data placed Beckles in the area of the woman’s home at the time of the shooting, authorities said. 

Immediately following the guilty verdicts on May 13, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson, who presided over the trial, sentenced Beckles to serve Life Without the Possibility of Parole, plus five years.  

The case, assigned to the Homicide and Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Helen Pott with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Aaron Brown, District Attorney Investigator Curtis Averhart and Victim Advocate Kaysha Albritton.  DeKalb County Police Detective J. Posey led the initial investigation.