ARMED ROBBER GUILTY OF ACCOSTING TWO WOMEN

Persistent Neighbors Key to Arrest of Shelton Thomas as He Cased first Victim’s Old Apartment with Her Stolen Car

Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the conviction Friday of 49-year-old Shelton Thomas of Atlanta on 11 counts: 4 counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, armed robbery, aggravated assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, theft by taking (an automobile), criminal attempt to commit armed robbery and aggravated assault with intent to rob.

The defendant’s assault of the first victim took place September 1, 2007 as she was ending her work day at a model home on West Chase Street in a new subdivision off Bakers Ferry Road. On the pretext of looking for someone in the neighborhood, the defendant gained entry into the home, pointed a gun and demanded money. He forced real estate agent Doreena Thomas (no relation to the defendant) to disrobe then call her bank. When he discovered there was no money in her account, he fled in the victim’s silver, Pontiac Grand Am.

On September 26, 2007, the defendant accosted Jamonica Deramus, who also lived on West Chase Street. Deramus had come home from work to freshen up before heading out to her Bible study group. As she exited into the garage, the defendant met her at the door, pointed a gun and forced her back into the house. Her alarm sounded, triggering a call from her security company. Sensing something was amiss, they called police. The defendant fled empty handed.

Later that evening, a couple who lived in a Bakers Ferry Road apartment complex called police several times to report a suspicious man in a silver Pontiac. They had called 911 three times on September 20th to report the same man and car. Each time the police arrived, he was gone. At about 10:30 p.m. on the night of the 26th, however, police arrested the defendant driving Doreena Thomas’s stolen Grand Am. She no longer lived at the Springlake Apartment Complex, but the information in her car contained that address.

The defendant is a registered sex offender who served nearly 20 years in an Arizona prison for felony sexual assault. He will be sentenced in this case on Friday, December 17, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. There’s no courtroom assignment yet. Thomas could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

The case was tried before Senior Superior Court Judge Ann Workman of Dekalb County, sitting in Fulton County. It was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ashley Culberson and ADA Dwayne Brown. The investigation was carried out by Fulton Police Detectives Johnna Griffin (now with the DA’s office) and Jeff Wright and Fulton County DA Investigators Jim Marshall and Ernie Nesmith.

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