Man convicted of killing friend outside sports bar over unpaid $1,600 loan

STONECREST, Ga. (TCN) -- A 52-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison for fatally shooting his friend outside a bar over an unpaid loan.

In a news release, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office said a jury found Shiva Vereen guilty on Aug. 15 of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the death of his friend, 45-year-old Andrew Carpenter. A judge subsequently sentenced Vereen to life plus five years.

According to prosecutors, on Feb. 13, 2023, DeKalb County Police responded to a possible shooting at a sports bar, where they found Carpenter deceased in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators reportedly obtained surveillance footage that captured Vereen arriving at the location at around 2:30 a.m., and he confronted the victim inside the bar. Vereen and Carpenter allegedly went outside and sat in the victim's vehicle for around 40 minutes.

The district attorney's office said they exited the car, and Carpenter was drinking and talking to friends. Vereen reportedly retrieved a gun from his vehicle before walking back to his friend and shooting him eight times. Vereen then fled the scene. He was arrested in Texas three weeks later after authorities pulled him over for driving with a fake dealership tag.

According to prosecutors, the defense argued that Carpenter "pulled a gun and threatened Vereen’s family while they were together in the vehicle," so "he acted in self-defense and in defense of his family." Vereen also "claimed to have blacked out during the shooting."

However, the district attorney's office said, "Text messages between the defendant and the victim over the previous months showed that Defendant Vereen was angry with Carpenter because he owed him $1,600."

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