FOUR-TIME FELON CONVICTED IN STABBING DEATH OF UNION CITY MAN

Defendant Given Probation Days Before Murder

Atlanta- Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the conviction by jury trial of Shamell Stroud, 25. Jurors convicted Stroud Friday afternoon of Murder, Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault for the stabbing death of 53-year-old Wayne Jackson.

Union City Police Officers responding to an alarm call found Jackson’s bloodied and nude body in the open doorway of his Flatshoals Road apartment in Union City on September 29, 2010. The victim had been stabbed multiple times with fatal wounds to his chest and back. A bloody kitchen knife was found next to the victim’s body along with a trail of bloody footprints leading away from the crime scene. The subsequent investigation revealed that the victim and defendant met earlier in the night and went club hopping before returning to the victim’s apartment. Surveillance video captured Defendant Stroud leaving the apartment complex just as police arrived. The victim had tried to summon for help by activating the alarm system near the door before dying. Defendant Stroud was arrested a week and a half later in Virginia where he fled after the murder. He confessed to detectives claiming he killed the victim in self-defense.

Two days prior to murdering Wayne Jackson, Defendant Stroud pled guilty to his fourth felony charge for auto theft. He was sentenced to probation though prosecutors sought a four year sentence.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance Russell sentenced Stroud to Life without Parole plus five years for the murder of Wayne Jackson.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Linda Dunikoski with assistance from Senior ADA Leif Howard. Detectives D. Shayder and G. Hodgson of the Union City Police Department led the initial investigation.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov