Man found shot in the head after crashing into gate at Cobb apartment, shooter convicted

AUSTELL, Ga. — Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady Jr. announced an Austell man was found guilty of malice murder for a 2021 shooting and vehicle crash.

According to the DA’s office, Sony Lebrun, 37, was accused of malice murder and aggravated assault, among other charges, after shooting someone following a road rage incident in Austell.

The DA’s office said on Aug. 6, 2021, Cobb County officers responded to calls reporting shots fired and a vehicle crashing into a gate at the Premier Lane Apartments in Austell.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

When officers arrived, the DA’s office said they found Eric Stone dead in the driver’s seat, with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Witnesses at the scene told police they thought Lebrun was responsible, according to the DA’s office. Stone and Lebrun were said to have been in an ongoing dispute after a road rage incident, the DA’s office said.

“Witnesses that were with the victim at the time of the shooting fled on foot and were captured on video running away from the scene. One of those two individuals was seen retrieving a firearm from an apartment building and firing in the direction of the defendant’s apartment,” the DA’s office said.

Nobody, and no property, was struck in the second shooting, but officers got a warrant for the individual’s arrest due to firing a weapon in a neighborhood, the DA’s office said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Man pleads guilty in triple murder at Cobb golf course and country club, avoids death penalty
• Fulton DA admits to relationship with special prosecutor, calls motion to disqualify ‘meritless’
• Study shows half of nation’s renters are struggling with rent, and in Ga. it’s not much different

Lebrun was then brought in for an interview and denied knowing anything about the shooting.

Evidence police obtained from his phone through GPS tracking and other data identified him as being at the scene of the crime, the DA’s office said.

The DA’s office said that additional surveillance video from several different locations confirmed Lebrun was at the scene of the shooting when it occurred and that he was responsible for the death of Eric Stone and accused Lebrun of murder.

“The two witnesses that were with the victim were interviewed and provided further descriptions of the suspect to law enforcement consistent with Sony Lebrun,” according to Broady’s office.

Broady’s office said Lebrun will be sentenced at a later date but was convicted by a Cobb County jury for charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and two counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Man pleads guilty in triple murder at Cobb golf course and country club

©2023 Cox Media Group