Demetrius Bynum
Demetrius Bynum on Thursday pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Aug. 28, 2017 homicide of Isaac Queen. In approving the plea agreement, Judge Don Poole sentenced Bynum to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and illegal possession and discharge of a gun.
Assistant District Attorney Crystle Carrion said the victim’s family was satisfied with the resolution of the case.
ADA Lee Ortwein was co-counsel for the prosecution.
Police earlier said the murder at the Hampton Inn on Shallowford Road involved a man showing up to meet a woman, then being chased from the room by another man.
Bynum, who was 27 at the time, was returned to Hamilton County from his home in Northwest Atlanta to face charges of criminal homicide, unlawfully carrying a weapon, and possession of a weapon in the commission of a felony.
Police arriving at the scene found Isaac Queen dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
One witness reported hearing a single gunshot and then seeing a small gray vehicle flee, then a silver Nissan Altima also speed off. A second witness told of waking up to a single gunshot . That witness said he saw the man in the room next to him get in a silver Nissan Altima with a female and flee.
Checking the victim's phone, police found he was in contact with a female "known to police" several minutes prior to his murder. He went to the hotel to meet the female and even filmed himself walking to room 232 and making contact with the woman prior to turning the video off.
Police said the room was registered to Bynum and said he had been in contact with the same woman as Queen had.
It was found the female was in the Atlanta area on Aug. 27, then in the vicinity of the Hampton Inn on Shallowford around the time of the slaying. She was back in Atlanta by 7 p.m. on Aug. 28.
A search of the room turned up purchases from a nearby Dollar Tree. Police obtained video of Bynum and the female at the Dollar Tree.
Another witness told of dropping Bynum off at the hotel and of Bynum walking to the second floor. He said about 20 minutes later that Queen fled the room chased by another black male brandishing a firearm. He said the man eventually caught Queen and shot him.
He said the shooter looked like Bynum.
Police said a Facebook photo of Bynum shows him sitting on the Altima wearing items of clothing described by the witness and matching that shown in the Dollar Tree video.