SUMMERVILLE-A Chattooga County judge has sentenced Deoveon LaWayne Price to 25 years in the Oak Street shooting case, according to a report citing the final court disposition.
The case involved the June 2025 shooting death of 27-year-old Christopher “D.J.” Chapman. A jury acquitted Price of murder but convicted him on aggravated-assault and firearm charges.
Judge Melissa Hise sentenced Price on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Chattooga County Superior Court. In total, the sentence calls for five years in confinement followed by 20 years on probation.
Additionally, Price will receive credit for time served dating to his June 6, 2025, arrest.
Court Imposes Consecutive Sentences
According to the final disposition, Price received 20 years for aggravated assault. The judge imposed another five years for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
That five-year firearm sentence will run consecutively to the aggravated-assault sentence. As a result, the two sentences produce an aggregate term of 25 years.
The confinement and probation terms remain subject to the conditions imposed by the court.
Jury Acquitted Price of Murder Charges
The sentencing followed a multi-day trial in late August. Jurors found Price not guilty of malice murder and felony murder.
However, the jury convicted him of aggravated assault and one firearm charge. Additionally, jurors acquitted Price on a separate count of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Because of those acquittals, the court did not sentence Price on either murder charge. Instead, Hise based the sentence on the two offenses for which jurors returned guilty verdicts.
Defense attorneys Sutton Connelly and Steven Miller represented Price. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Lynsay Chapman prosecuted the case for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
Shooting and Arrest on June 6, 2025
The case began shortly after 12:30 p.m. June 6, 2025, when the Summerville Police Department received a report of a gunshot victim on Oak Street.
Officers found Chapman unresponsive in the roadway with a serious gunshot wound. Emergency personnel took him to Chattooga ER, where doctors later pronounced him dead.
During the initial investigation, police identified Price, then 24, as the suspected shooter. Investigators said he had left Oak Street in a vehicle before officers arrived.
Later, authorities found Price driving a different vehicle on Taylors Ridge. Officers arrested him without incident during a traffic stop.
At the time, police said their investigation indicated that Price and Chapman had been involved in a physical altercation. Authorities alleged that Price produced a handgun during the confrontation and shot Chapman in the chest.
Following the investigation, authorities initially charged Price with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime. The case later proceeded to trial on malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and two firearm counts.
The Summerville Police Department led the investigation. Additionally, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office, Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, and Georgia State Patrol assisted.
Chapman Had Ties to Cedar Bluff
Chapman’s obituary identified him as Christopher Dewayne “D.J.” Chapman of Cedar Bluff, Alabama. He was born June 11, 1997, in Alabaster and worked for Northwest Georgia Paving.
The obituary said Chapman was survived by his wife, Alexis Sluder Chapman, his son, Tyson Chapman, and his daughter, LaVada Chapman. His funeral took place June 13, 2025, with burial at Weiss Lake Memorial Gardens.
Ultimately, the sentence came more than 15 months after Price’s arrest on the day Chapman died.
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