Darius Mathis Case

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Darius Mathis, age 20, of Atlanta, Georgia was convicted and sentenced in Douglas Superior Court for his role in a series of violent armed robberies in Douglas County according to District Attorney David McDade. According to McDade, Mathis and a co-defendant robbed five different victims at gunpoint during a crime spree in December of 2007.

On Monday February 1st Mathis pled guilty to five counts of armed robbery and one count of theft by receiving. Following a lengthy sentencing hearing in which several of the victims testified, McDade urged the court to impose the maximum sentence of life in prison on Mathis plus a term of years. At the conclusion of the hearing Judge David T. Emerson imposed the requested sentence and ordered that Mathis serve a life sentence for each of the armed robbery convictions to be followed by ten years for the theft by receiving charge.

During the plea hearing District Attorney David McDade described for the court the series of crimes Mathis committed. According to McDade on December 15, 2007 Mathis and his co-defendant; armed with a .38 caliber revolver, confronted two separate victims in the parking lot of Arbor Place Mall forcing each to give up their money, wallet and cell phones. Law enforcement responded and shortly thereafter following a lengthy chase down Highway 5, the suspects wrecked their vehicle and were apprehended. In the vehicle they were driving police found property belonging not only to the two victims at the mall, but also property linking them to at least three more violent robberies in the recent past.

During the investigation it was determined that on December 13, 2007 the pair had also robbed at gunpoint Ms. Susan Jolley as she left the mall late at night. During the hearing Jolley described being apprehensive as she began walking toward her car in the parking lot after work to the point of calling a friend on her cell phone to help her should anything happen. Almost immediately after entering the parking lot she saw Mathis and another man slowly approaching her in a vehicle and as they got near her one of the men jumped out screaming obscenities at her and shoving a gun into her stomach demanding her money. In court today Jolley told Mathis that he needed help and that he had taken things from her that could never be replaced.

Darry Harrell, the second victim robbed at the mall on December 15 also testified during the hearing and described Mathis as the driver of the vehicle that pulled in front of his vehicle as he parked at the mall to begin Christmas Shopping. Harrell told the court that a second man in the car get out and approached his vehicle with a gun and demanded us money, wallet, phone and keys. As soon as the attack was over Harrell summoned help from inside the mall.

It was later determined that the vehicle used during the armed robberies at Arbor Mall on December 15 belonged to former Atlanta Hawks player Sheldon Williams but was taken from him by Mathis in a car jacking just prior to December 15. According to police reports Williams was confronted at gunpoint as he left a store in West Atlanta and his wallet and keys, along with his vehicle were taken. At the hearing Mathis admitted to being one of the assailants who car jacked and robbed Williams.

According to District Attorney David McDade, “Mathis is a violent predator who hunted down innocent victims in Douglas County and deserves to forfeit his right to ever live in our society again. We build prisons so violent criminals like him can be put away forever.”

The trial of Mathis’ co-defendant, Bernard Moss is currently pending and will be scheduled as soon as possible according to the District Attorney’s office.