THE VINE CITY (AKA “STORY TIME”) RAPIST IS GUILTY!

Gerry Lumpkin Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Rape and Robbing 9 Victims

With his trial on a 51-count indictment set to begin Monday, May 14th, a man who terrorized residents of the Vine City neighborhood of Atlanta during the summer of 2005 decided to enter a plea yesterday to 38 counts. He has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the conviction by guilty plea of Gerry Lumpkin of Atlanta to multiple counts each of rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault, hijacking of a motor vehicle, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The charges related to eight separate incidents—the rapes of 4 women and the armed robbery of 4 pizza delivery drivers. The 32-year-old defendant would assault and rape a female victim, steal her cell phone, use it to order a pizza, and then rob the pizza delivery driver. During one robbery, he shot a driver in the leg. Atlanta Police Department investigators traced the cell phone taken in the last incident, on September 11, 2005, to an apartment the defendant shared with his girlfriend. They found a number of items stolen from the victims including 3 cell phones that connected Lumpkin to the rape or robbery victims. Because he told the victims elaborately concocted stories as he was raping and robbing them, i.e., that someone had paid him to commit the crime, the APD nicknamed him the “Story Time” rapist.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge John J. Goger presided. Due to the severity of the defendant’s crimes, it’s unlikely Lumpkin will ever be eligible for parole. The case was prosecuted by Chuck Boring of the DA’s Crimes Against Women and Children Unit (CWAC) and ADA Adeline Alexander. The case was investigated by APD Investigators Carven Tyus, Lynn Daniel (retired), Danny Agan, Jacquelyn Diederich, A. Brown and Sgt. Rick Chambers and Fulton County DA Investigators Crispin Henry, Antoinette Beyah, Cindy Williamson and Beth Suber. Janel Wheeler with the DA’s Victim-Witness Advocate Program assisted the numerous victims in the case.

Contact: Lyn Vaughn, 404.730.6860 (office); 770.597.6963 (cell); lyn.vaughn@co.fulton.ga.us