A Chattooga County jury has found Deoveon LaWayne Price not guilty of murder in connection with the 2025 shooting death of 27-year-old Christopher “DJ” Chapman, but jurors convicted Price on two other charges.

The verdict came following several days of testimony in Chattooga County Superior Court. Price, now 25, was found not guilty of malice murder and not guilty of felony murder. Jurors did, however, find him guilty of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Sentencing on those convictions has not yet been scheduled.

The case stems from a shooting that happened on June 6, 2025, on Oak Street in Summerville.

As WZQZ News reported at the time, Summerville Police officers were dispatched to Oak Street at approximately 12:36 PM after receiving a report of a person suffering from a gunshot wound. When officers arrived, they found Chapman unresponsive in the roadway with a serious gunshot wound.

Chapman was transported to Chattooga ER, where he was later pronounced dead.

The initial police investigation identified Price, who was 24 at the time, as the alleged shooter. Investigators said Price left the scene following the shooting and was later located driving a different vehicle on Taylors Ridge. He was taken into custody without incident during a traffic stop.

Police said their investigation indicated that Price and Chapman had been involved in a physical altercation before the shooting. Authorities alleged that during that confrontation, Price produced a handgun and shot Chapman in the chest.

The investigation involved the Summerville Police Department, with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office, Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force and Georgia State Patrol.

The case went before a Chattooga County jury this past week. Price was represented at trial by attorneys Sutton Connelly and Steve Miller, while Lynsay Chapman of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

The jury ultimately rejected the two murder charges but convicted Price of aggravated assault and the firearm offense.

Price will return to court for sentencing on those two convictions at a later date.