September 26, 2022

State vs. Quantez Tyre

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the murder case against a Decatur man accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend at the post office where she worked. Jurors returned guilty verdicts Tuesday, September 20 against 27-year-old Quantez Tyre on charges of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon in connection with the shooting death of 22-year-old Tyrika Terrell.

The fatal incident occurred on November 27, 2017 at the Wesley Chapel Post Office in Decatur where the victim worked. According to the investigation, Defendant Tyre and Terrell had been in a relationship for several years. After Terrell gave birth to their child in May 2017, she began to report incidents of domestic violence. The reports did not result in any subsequent arrests for Tyre, and Terrell discontinued their relationship in October 2017. On the day of the murder, Tyre repeatedly called and texted the victim, communicating that he would be waiting for her when she left work. Witnesses observed Defendant Tyre in and around another business located in the Snapfinger Plaza near the Post Office for several hours before the shooting.

Terrell called 911 from work to tell police that her ex-boyfriend was waiting outside for her and she didn’t feel comfortable leaving alone. Terrell asked police to come to the back of the building to escort her to her vehicle. Police were given incorrect cross streets of the Post Office where Terrell worked, and were dispatched to the wrong location.

The victim informed Tyre that she had contacted police. After a brief call between the two parties, Defendant Tyre was seen by a witness and on surveillance video walking toward the back of the Wesley Chapel Post Office. Several shots were fired, and then Tyre ran through the wood line toward Snapfinger Road. DeKalb County Police arrived on scene shortly after, and the victim was transported to Grady Hospital where she died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Defendant Tyre was arrested on murder charges four days after the crime at a house in the 1500 block of Snapfinger Road. When police arrived, Tyre shot out a window before setting fire to the second floor of house. He exited out a window, hid a revolver in the gutter of the house, and was subsequently taken into custody. The revolver matched fragments that were recovered at the Post Office, and the defendant admitted to shooting the victim and setting fire to the house.

On Friday, September 23, Defendant Tyre was sentenced to a term of life without the possibility of parole, plus ten years in prison to run consecutively by DeKalb Superior Court Judge Stacey K. Hydrick.

The case, assigned to the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Ashley O’Neal, with assistance from Senior ADA Nicole Finnie, DA Investigator Rosalyn Byrd, and Victim Advocate Britney Winley. Atlanta Division Postal Inspectors of the US Postal Inspection Service and Detective BR Smith of the DeKalb County Police Department led the initial investigation.