DeKalb County police say Donald Crenshaw was found dead in his bedroom in September 2023.
LITHONIA, Ga. - A Stone Mountain man was sentenced to serve not one but two life sentences for murdering his boss in 2023.
What we know:
On March 27, a DeKalb County jury found 23-year-old Yamir Paul Thomas guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the death of her boss, 57-year-old Donald Crenshaw.
A week later, he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
The backstory:
Crenshaw and Thomas worked together at a Church's Chicken. Crenshaw was the general manager and Thomas was one of his employees. They reportedly had an argument at the restaurant on Sept. 4, 2023.
Just after 2 a.m. the next day, DeKalb County police were called to a shooting at a home in the 5900 block of Valley Green Road in Lithonia.
A man called 911 saying he found his roommate, identified as Crenshaw, dead in his bedroom. Crenshaw's silver Volvo was also missing from the driveway.
Doorbell video revealed Crenshaw came home with Thomas just before 11:30 p.m. At 11:35 p.m., he's seen on video briefly stepping back out to go to his car. Five minutes later, Thomas was seen on camera leaving the house with a handgun sticking out of his pocket. He left in Crenshaw's car. At 11:58 p.m., he came back to the house. Moments later, he was seen leaving again, this time carrying a wallet with cash sticking out of it.
Police used the surveillance camera footage to track down the Volvo the very next day. It was parked about a block from where Thomas lived.
Thomas was arrested on Dec. 11, 2023. In an interview with detectives, Thomas admitted to shooting Crenshaw, but he claimed he had done it in self-defense.
A search of his phone showed he had looked up "What’s the sentencing range for second-degree murder?" and "Can fugitives get jobs?"
On April 3, 2025, Thomas got the answer to at least one of his queries. The judge sentenced him to two life sentences, plus five years to serve consecutively.
The Source: The Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney released the information included in this article.