Background: Karlton Sirmons appears in a Douglas County courtroom in Georgia (WAGA/YouTube). Inset: Tavarus Joiner (GoFundMe).
A Georgia man has been sentenced for breaking into the home where his girlfriend had taken shelter and killing her cousin in front of his family.
Karlton Sirmons, 38, was sentenced by Douglas County Superior Court Judge Deah Warren to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 136 years. Sirmons was convicted of malice murder in the shooting death of 32-year-old Tavarus Joiner, along with 21 other charges, including felony murder and aggravated assault, the Villa Rica Police Department announced.
The deadly attack unfolded around 6 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2024, at a residence on Serenity Point Lane in Villa Rica, a city roughly 30 miles west of Atlanta, where Sirmons’ girlfriend had been staying.
Authorities said the home belonged to Joiner, her cousin, and that she had gone there “to get away” from Sirmons. Joiner lived at the Villa Rica residence with his longtime girlfriend and their two children, regional NBC affiliate WXIA reported.
According to the police department, “Sirmons kicked in the front door” as he tried “to get to his girlfriend.” When the door “burst open,” Joiner went to the top of the stairs to find out what was happening, and Sirmons shot him in the chest, police said.
Investigators said Sirmons then went upstairs, where he shot Joiner “in the back,” killing him. He also shot his girlfriend “eight times” and fired once at Joiner’s girlfriend, striking her in the leg. Police said he also pistol-whipped a 5-year-old boy who was inside the room.
Villa Rica police said officers reached the scene “within minutes,” though they initially did not know whether Sirmons was still inside the home. Officers cleared the residence and began giving aid to the victims, but Joiner was already dead.
The other victims were “quickly stabilized and transported to local hospitals.” They told police that Sirmons was the shooter, and a nearby camera captured him leaving the home “within minutes of the initial 911 call.”
Sirmons was “pulled over” closer to Atlanta “in less than three hours,” police said. The defendant reportedly only stopped the attack because he had run out of bullets.
A GoFundMe set up for Joiner said “a monster” broke into the home “where he was sleeping with his family and killed him right in front of them.”
“He did not know this man and did not deserve to lose his life protecting his family. But he did, and we are devastated and angry,” the fundraiser goes on. “My son loved his two boys. They watched this killer take his life as well as shoot, beat, and break their mother’s leg. She survived but has a long road to recovery.”
The post Man who kicked down door in search of his girlfriend before killing her cousin dead in front of the victim’s kids learns his fate first appeared on Law & Crime.
