Community Corner

Third Arrest Made In Murder Of 7-Year-Old DeKalb Girl

Little Mariasia Thomas was in her foster parents' home in Ellenwood when a spray of gunfire struck the house.

Dwayne Eric Allen was arrested by police.
Dwayne Eric Allen was arrested by police. (DeKalb Sheriff)

DECATUR, GA -- Police have arrested a third person in connection with the murder of a DeKalb girl. On Friday, police arrested Dwayne Eric Allen, 27, of Scottdale, Georgia, in connection with the April 12, 2019, fatal shooting of Mariasia Thomas. The 7-year-old was in her foster parents' Ellenwood, Georgia, home, when the house was sprayed with bullets from an AR-15 assault rifle.

Allen was arrested at a metro Atlanta business without incident and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

According to warrants issued May 16, Allen and his nephew, Antoine Allen, 21, shot up the Satellite Boulevard home. Thomas was shot in the head.

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A third suspect, Keadesia Allen, 23, who is Dwayne Allen's niece, was arrested on May 13.

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