US man who dropped iPhone trying to escape gets life sentence for murder

A man who dropped his iPhone while trying to flee from officers has been convicted of murder, the DeKalb County district attorney said Tuesday.

A jury on Monday convicted Aqontise Glenn, 33, of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and felony fleeing in the Sept 8, 2021, incident. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus 10 years, according to DA Sherry Boston.

Glenn shot Christopher Copeland, 36, multiple times and left him to die in a parking lot, according to investigators.

Shortly after 2pm that day, officers were called to a Columbia Drive apartment complex near Decatur after shots were fired. When they arrived, they found Copeland with several gunshot wounds, according to police. Copeland, who lived in Stockbridge, died at the scene.

Witnesses reported hearing shots and then seeing a small Nissan speed away. Investigators found 17 shell casings in the parking lot. A camera near the entrance to the apartment complex captured a black Nissan Versa with a Florida license plate leaving around the time of the 911 call, according to investigators.

Later that afternoon, an officer leaving the scene saw the Nissan and attempted to stop it. But the driver led officers on a chase for more than two miles, driving through yards and the wrong way to evade capture, police said.

When the driver, later identified as Glenn, got out of the car near Wesley Chapel Road, he jumped over a fence and dropped his iPhone. Investigators used that phone to identify Glenn, and photo data placed him at the scene of the killing.

Glenn’s aunt told investigators he kicked down the door of her Wesley Chapel Road home and asked her not to turn him in, according to investigators. The woman screamed and said Glenn ran away.

About two weeks later, Glenn was arrested by US marshals and local police in Calhoun County, Alabama. He was returned to DeKalb on Oct 5 and has remained in jail since.

Investigators did not release details on a possible motive in the shooting. – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Tribune News Service