Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney

Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit

Sherry Boston, District Attorney

SECOND MAN CONVICTED IN BRUTAL STABBING DEATH OF DECATUR MAN

October 2, 2019

Victim Targeted in Robbery Scheme

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in a robbery-motivated murder case in which a Decatur man was brutally beaten and stabbed more than three dozen times. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on Tuesday against 19-year-old Riki Albury, Jr. on charges of Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Theft by Taking, and Possession of a Knife during the Commission of a Felony, in connection with the stabbing death of 49-year-old Ronald Roach.

A friend discovered the victim’s body inside of his Flat Shoals Road apartment in Decatur on the morning of June 28, 2018. He had been stabbed 38 times throughout his chest, neck, and back. He also suffered blunt force injuries to his head. The investigation revealed that Defendant Albury and his indicted co-defendants, Jared Smith and Kessiah Rowe, targeted the victim after a previous gathering at his home. The suspects later returned and demanded money. An argument ensued. The victim was then chased into his bedroom where he was stabbed and beaten. The attackers stole the victim’s phone, wallet, and keys and fled the scene in his car. Defendants Albury and Smith blamed one another for the vicious attack when questioned by detectives.

Following his conviction this week, Albury was sentenced to life plus five years of probation by Senior Judge Daniel M. Coursey. Defendant Smith, previously convicted in July on murder and related charges for his role in the crime, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2019.  Trial is pending for Defendant Rowe.

The case was prosecuted by Senior ADA Shannon Hodder, assigned to the Major Case Unit, with assistance from DA Investigator Craig Smith. Detective D. H. Collins of the DeKalb Police Department led the initial investigation.