Dayton Bryan Owen of Smyrna pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Bartow County to Armed Robbery and Aggravated Assault. His co-defendant brother, Dristen Owen, pleaded guilty on November 7th to Malice Murder, Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, and Possession
of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
Dayton was 19 and Dristen was 15 at the time of the crimes. Cherokee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Chief Judge D. Scott Smith accepted the
pleas as negotiated by the parties. Dristen Owen was sentenced to serve life in prison, with the possibility of parole, followed by life plus 5 years to serve on probation, and Dayton Owen to life with the first 25 years in prison followed by probation.
The investigation revealed that on May 16, 2023, 19-year-old Caleb Demond Thomas sent text messages to the Owen brothers requesting a ride from his residence off Barrett Parkway in Cobb County to Cartersville. Thomas had arranged to buy Percocet pills from an individual in Parkway Station Apartments near the Cartersville Cloverleaf. The Owen brothers agreed and accepted gas money from Thomas. Around 7:40 p.m., Thomas exited the pickup truck driven by Dayton Owen and retrieved the Percocet pills from a grill outside the alleged drug distributor’s
apartment. When Thomas returned to the pickup truck, the Owen brothers demanded half of the pills. An argument ensued and Dristen Owen admitted to firing a small-caliber gun at Thomas, hitting him in the torso. Thomas was able to run from the pickup truck, but the Owen brothers chased after him in the truck and then on foot. Dristen Owen confessed to punching Thomas multiple times and taking the pills from his hand. The Owen brothers fled the scene, Dristen throwing the handgun and shell casing into a river as they traveled back to Smyrna. Ultimately, Thomas succumbed to the gunshot wound.
Two residents of the neighborhood saw the violent attack as it happened and sprang into action to help Thomas. Although they were unable to save Thomas’s life, they were able to describe the pickup truck and gave general descriptions of the Defendants. The Bartow County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia Bureau of Investigation followed every lead, including license plate reader images, cell phone data, and residential and business surveillance footage to identify and locate the Defendants at their Smyrna residence. The Smyrna Police Department assisted during the investigation.
District Attorney Erle J. Newton III and Assistant District Attorney Joshua S. Wyatt prosecuted the case. The District Attorney extended the plea offers and considered Dristen’s voluntary confession as the gunman. “This is a complete waste of life,” Newton said. “A nineteen-year-old was shot and killed and now a sixteen and a 20-year-old will spend much of their lives in prison.
This was all over drugs. Illegal drugs and illegal sales of prescription drugs are at the top of our societal problems. My heart breaks for Mr. Thomas’s family. I am shocked and dismayed that this level of violence was perpetrated by two very young Defendants.”
Caleb Thomas’s parents addressed the court at sentencing. Thomas’s father, Reginald Thomas, told Dristen that his actions have ruined many lives. In the midst of the painful statements, however, Reginald Thomas said that there was still time for the Defendants to seek forgiveness.
Mr. Thomas, commenting on the Defendants’ lengthy prison sentences, stated his family gets “no victory” in the outcome of this case, referencing that nothing would make right the loss the Thomas family has suffered. Mr. Thomas thanked the Court, the Office of the District Attorney, and law enforcement for making sure justice was done for his son.
From WBHF
