2 sentenced to life for murder of DeKalb County store owner
Tesfaye Birru
LITHONIA, Ga. - Two men will spend the rest of their lives in prison for the murder of a convenience store owner who was closing up shop when police say he was ambushed.
It happened in the 2700 block of Evans Mill Road in Lithonia at around 10 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2020. Police said three masked men had pulled into the parking lot with their lights off, waiting for 57-year-old Tesfaye Birru to walk outside.
That's when police said one man pulled a gun on Birru. The two fought while the masked man pulled the trigger. Another suspect shot Birru in the head, then all three hopped into the getaway car.
Birru still had the keys in his hand when the police found him on the ground.
Officers received information that led them to Ronnie Miller. They said through a search warrant they were able to find evidence of the shooting in Miller's car, including clothing that matched the description of one of the shooters.
After looking through his cell phone data, they found Ricky Character who they said made incriminating statements on social media that implicated him in the murder.
Miller and Character were also connected to a 2020 robbery in Rockdale County.
To this day, the third assailant has remained unidentified.
On July 1, a jury found Ronnie Miller, 46, and Ricky Character, 24, guilty on charges of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Miller was separately convicted on additional counts of felony murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Miller was sentenced to life without parole, plus 45 years.
Character was sentenced to life without parole, plus 35 years.
Tesfaye Birru left behind a wife and a 14-year-old son.