LITHONIA MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE AFTER GAS STATION MURDER CONVICTION

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

State v. William Cooper

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a Lithonia man convicted of murdering a man at a gas station in broad daylight will spend the rest of his life in prison.

On August 13, 2026, a jury found William Cooper, 21, guilty of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony in connection with the death of Delantay Johnson, 28, on March 6, 2025.

According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded at around 10:20 a.m. to a report of a person shot at a gas station in the 7000 block of Covington Highway in Lithonia. When officers arrived, they found Johnson lying face down in the middle of the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the back.

As officers tried to help Johnson, Defendant Cooper approached them and said that he was the shooter. He claimed that he had shot Johnson in self-defense. Cooper told police that he and Johnson had argued earlier in the day and that Johnson had threatened him. Defendant Cooper claimed that Johnson left the gas station, returned with a gun and confronted him.

Detectives pulled surveillance video from the gas station that showed Defendant Cooper circling the gas pumps in a white Volvo. Johnson could be seen walking across the parking lot. When he reached the gas pumps, Defendant Cooper pulled up to Johnson and said something before firing shots out of his car window.

Johnson tried to crawl towards the gas station's convenience store for help, but Defendant Cooper stopped his car, got out and shot Johnson several more times while he lay on the pavement.

First responders transported Johnson to Grady Memorial Hospital where he died of his injuries. While Johnson had a gun in his waistband at the time he was shot, surveillance video confirmed that he never drew his weapon.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Defendant Cooper's cell phone and found text messages where he complained to an unidentified person that he was upset with Johnson because Johnson had taken a stolen gun from him. In those messages, Defendant Cooper said he planned to hurt Johnson if he saw him.

Immediately after the verdict, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson, who presided over the trial, sentenced Defendant Cooper to 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 Garrett Emmons with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Michelle Castro, District Attorney Investigator Alexander Ortiz and Victim Advocate Christy Palmer. DeKalb County Police Department Detective Wright led the initial investigation.