LITHONIA, Ga. — A man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2019 murder of his girlfriend and for shooting an officer four times, leading authorities on a weeklong manhunt, officials said.
In September, a jury found Otis Walker guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated assault on an officer and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony charges, according to a news release from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office. A judge sentenced Walker this week.
It all started when his girlfriend, 27-year-old Aleka Simmons, made several hang-up 911 calls the night before the shooting on July 31, 2019.
"This is Aleka Simmons... if anything happens to me...," the DA's office said she mentioned in one of her calls. The dispatcher could hear arguing in the background.
“Are you threatening me? You’re gonna kill me," the dispatcher heard Simmons say,
After that call, DeKalb officers responded to the home located on Hodgdon Corners Cove in Lithonia but left once they found the home "dark and quiet," with no signs of a disturbance.
Walker's mom was sleeping inside the home when another family member knocked on her bedroom door to let her know that police had come by to check on a potential disturbance that same night. She then walked to the bedroom where her son and Simmons were staying and saw there was tension between the two, according to the DA's office.
Prosecutors said Walker's mom offered to give Simmons a ride elsewhere. Walker then told his mom he would talk to the police and closed the door, according to the DA's office.
A few minutes later, she heard gunshots. Prosecutors said the defendant's mom found Simmons critically injured. The shooting took place during the early morning hours of August 1, 2019. The DA's office news release said Walker had previously been arrested for battery and told his mom he did not want to go back to jail.
His mother and two juveniles ran to a neighbor's house to call 911. Officer Nunn, who was at the home for the earlier call, returned with two more officers. Once they got to the front yard, Walker then shot an officer, hitting Nunn four times before running into the woods, officials said. The officer was taken to the hospital where he recovered.
Walker was then arrested after a weeklong manhunt. He had with him a signed apology to Nunn and the police department.
The district attorney's office said during the trial, Walker acted as if he defended himself when he shot his girlfriend. He also insisted he shot at the ground when shooting at officers to get them to shoot and kill him. The district attorney's office added his claims were disproved because of the trajectory of the shots that hit the officer.
Walker will not only spend life in prison but will not be able to qualify for parole. In addition to life, he was sentenced to 65 years to serve consecutively.