Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Defendants Targeted Victim Thinking He Was a Drug Dealer

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces convictions by guilty pleas in the cases of two men accused of robbing a man at gunpoint and terrorizing a woman and child inside his home. 

On Monday, Lavell Reymond, 43, and Anthony Baggett, 19, pleaded guilty to charges of Home Invasion in the First Degree, False Imprisonment, two counts of Armed Robbery, three counts of Aggravated Assault, Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony from an incident on December 7, 2019. 

Defendant Reymond also pleaded guilty to a charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. 

Officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call about an armed robbery at a home on Lindsey Drive in unincorporated Decatur around 3:30 a.m.  They found a man outside screaming “they’re in here.” 

According to the investigation, officers discovered the victim had left a sports bar on Covington Highway around 2 a.m.  A white Dodge Charger followed the man home.  When the man realized the car had followed him, he tried to back out of the driveway, but the driver of the Charger, later identified as Defendant Reymond, blocked him in.  Four people got out of the white car and pointed guns at the victim.  They made him get out of his car and onto the ground where they kicked and pistol whipped him.  A neighbor saw what happened and called 911. 

The suspects then forced the man inside his house.  When he resisted, Defendant Reymond threatened to kill the victim and anyone else in the house if he did not cooperate.  The four robbers duct taped the man’s hands and feet and ransacked his home.

A female friend of the victim’s was inside the house asleep with her 12-year-old daughter.  She woke up to one of the armed robbers pointing a gun at her head.  They hit her with a gun and pulled her out of bed as she tried to shield her daughter.  The robbers also pointed a gun at the girl and threatened to kill her and her mother. 

The suspects ran from the house as soon as police arrived and started shooting at the officers as they escaped into the woods.  Police searched the area and found Co-Defendant Bryan Eberhart, 20, hiding in a nearby shed.  Officers arrested him and found he had two guns, as well as drugs and the victim’s ID. 

During a police interview Defendant Eberhart told investigators that Defendant Reymond planned the robbery because he thought the victim was a drug dealer. 

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie sentenced Defendant Reymond to 35 years to serve 30 in confinement and the remaining 5 on probation.  Judge Barrie sentenced Defendant Baggett, who was a 15-year-old juvenile at the time of the crime, to 20 years to serve 5 in confinement and the balance on probation. 

In May 2022, Defendant Eberhart pleaded guilty to Home Invasion in the First Degree, False Imprisonment, two counts of Robbery, three counts of Aggravated Assault, Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.  Eberhart was sentenced to 30 years to serve 20 in confinement and 10 on probation. 

The case, assigned to the Trial Division, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Laura Alford with assistance from Senior ADA Ryan Patrick, DA Investigator Sam Woolwine, DA Investigator Jarrod Justus, Victim Advocate Ashley Snipes, and Victim Advocate Caitlin Bradley.  DeKalb County Police Department Detective T.D. Watson led the initial investigation.