Lithonia man convicted of murder, burning evidence of fatal shooting

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Lithonia man has been convicted of shooting another man to death and burning evidence of the murder, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney‘s Office.

On Friday, Feb. 14, 28-year-old Earnest Lee Johnson was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, second-degree arson and concealing the death of another in connection with the killing of 23-year-old Chanceler McCall.

On Dec. 28, 2020, DeKalb County police responded to a person shot in the 5000 block of Donnell Way in unincorporated Decatur.

They reportedly found several shell casings and a pool of blood in the road, but did not find a shooting victim.

Investigators said the pool of blood appeared as though someone had tried to wash it away. Officers found a hose in the front yard of a nearby home that was dripping water.

At the scene, police saw a Kia Soul with “a large number of bullet holes” in a driveway and a Pontiac G6, which investigators learned belonged to Johnson, parked on the street.

Witnesses said they heard the shooting and then saw two men put a body into the back of a dark-colored vehicle and drive away, the DA’s office said.

On Dec. 31, 2020, McCall’s mother called DeKalb County police to report him missing. She told investigators she had last seen her son on Dec. 28, and that he was driving a maroon Dodge Challenger.

She also told investigators that Chanceler had “an ongoing dispute” with Johnson.

Using a DNA sample from McCall’s mother, investigators determined the blood found at the crime scene was a match for McCall.

Detectives learned that in the early morning hours of Dec. 29, 2020, McCall’s Dodge Challenger was discovered abandoned and burned about a mile and a half from where the shooting happened.

The DA’s office said Johnson’s Pontiac was also found on fire that day behind a shopping center in Conyers, and an accelerant was found in the front seat of the car.

DeKalb County Police arrested Johnson on March 10, 2021. At the time of his arrest, he had a gun that matched several of the shell casings found at the shooting scene, the DA’s office said.

Johnson’s internet history also revealed he had searched “self-defense definition,” “malice aforethought,” “manslaughter,” “homicide” and similar phrases in the days leading up to the shooting.

In December 2021, McCall’s skeletal remains were discovered near I-20 in Morgan County.

A judge plans to schedule a sentencing hearing for Johnson in the coming weeks.