LIFE IN PRISON FOR MAN CONVICTED OF SHOOTING AND KILLING 75-YEAR-OLD GRANDFATHER
State vs. Vincent Almond
Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the murder case against a Decatur man accused of shooting and killing his grandfather. Jurors returned guilty verdicts Friday against 32-year-old Vincent Almond on charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm during Commission of a Felony in connection with the shooting death of 75-year-old Henry Benton.
The fatal incident occurred on August 29, 2020 at a home in the 1800 block of Crimson Court in Lithonia. The altercation began when Defendant Almond yelled at a 9-year-old relative over $2.50 that was missing. Almond’s mother attempted to intervene, and called her parents to assist when she was unsuccessful in calming the defendant down.
Benton, the defendant’s 75-year-old grandfather, arrived at the house with his wife, and tried to speak with Almond in his bedroom. Instead of the defendant calming down, a physical altercation ensued. When his mother and grandmother came to the room to try to break them up, Defendant Almond grabbed a handgun from under his bed sheets and shot his grandfather in the chest, killing him.
Defendant Almond was taken into custody and admitted to shooting and killing his grandfather, claiming to have shot him in self-defense. The victim was unarmed.
Following his conviction, Defendant Almond was sentenced to life in prison by DeKalb Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson.
The case, assigned to the District Attorney’s Homicide & Gangs Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Allison Layton, with assistance from ADA Sean Johnston, DA Investigator Shaun Hector, and Victim Advocate Desiree Livingston. DeKalb County Police Department Detective BR Smith led the initial investigation.