Rome Man Gets 10 Years In Case Tied To Sisters' Deaths

A Rome man acquitted of the murder of two Rome sisters in Alabama was sentenced Thursday on firearms and tampering with evidence charges relating to the case.

Devin Lashawn Watts was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and an additional 10 years on probation, on charges of auto theft, making false statements, tampering with evidence, theft by receiving and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The charges relate to the investigation into the murders of Armuchee High student Vanita Richardson and her sister Truvenia Campbell.

Watts was acquitted of murder charges after a week-long trial in Cherokee County, Alabama, in March. However, he remained in custody and was transferred back to the Floyd County Jail to resolve these other criminal charges.

History of the case

Early on the morning of May 13, 2020, Georgia Department of Transportation crews found the bodies of Campbell and Richardson while doing a bridge inspection on the Loop near Grizzard Park.

According to information presented in court:

Watts, Desmond Lavonta Brown and Christopher Pullen invited the girls to accompany them as they did a quick drug deal in Alabama. However, prosecutors said it was a ruse to get the girls in the car and coerce them into giving back a wallet that Brown thought was stolen.

Pullen testified during Brown’s murder trial in November 2023 that the sisters were pulled from the car in an Alabama field and Brown then grabbed Campbell’s purse.

Pullen testified that Brown shot Campbell when she jerked her purse back. Richardson handed over her bag, but she also was shot, though Pullen said he did not see who fired the gun.

The trio then drove away, but returned about 15 minutes later and placed the bodies in the trunk of Brown’s car and put plastic bags over their heads. They were later dumped in Floyd County.

Brown was convicted of murder in the case and sentenced to life in prison. Pullen pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Sentencing

Floyd County Superior Court Chief Judge John “Jack” Niedrach listened Thursday as Floyd County Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson detailed the last hours of the two women.

“These sisters were executed in a cotton field in Alabama,” Johnson said. “When their lifeless bodies were dumped over a bridge like trash, (Watts) took $200 from Desmond Brown to take a car to a dump site in Atlanta and burn it.”

Watts then took Richardson’s 1997 Toyota Corolla to Atlanta where it was set on fire in an attempt to get rid of any evidence of their murders.

Watts spoke to Judge Niedrach and acknowledged his involvement in the aftermath of the crime but denied any involvement in the murders.

That drew a harsh rebuke from a victim’s mother, who offered testimony during the hearing and asked the judge for the maximum sentence allowed.

“She (Vanita Richardson) should have been getting ready to graduate from high school the week this happened,” Richardson’s mother said to the judge. “There’s too much killing going on around here.”

“I agree with you one hundred percent,” Judge Niedrach said.