(Lawrenceville, Ga., 10/14/24) – A trio of men was found guilty of raping a woman at gunpoint and forcing her boyfriend to watch, before robbing the couple.

Daquain R. Livingston, 21, Elijah Nil Curney, 20, and Dashawn Andrettie Harris, 18, were each found guilty of rape, aggravated sodomy, and armed robbery for the attack that took place on July 21, 2021, at The Falls apartment complex in Duluth. Curney was also convicted of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The three will be sentenced on Oct. 28.

“This is a despicable crime that absolutely could not go unchecked,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “The trauma these defendants inflicted on the victims is unimaginable and these three men deserve to be punished to fullest extent of the law.”

 Around 2 a.m., on the morning of the incident, Curney, Harris, Livingston, and a previously convicted defendant encountered the couple in the apartment complex parking lot where their two vehicles were parked side by side.

The defendants pointed guns at the couple and assaulted the woman while holding a firearm on the male victim and forcing him to watch the attack. At some point, one of the defendants threatened to “blow her brains out” if the female victim in any way retaliated during the assault. After the attack, the defendants took items from both victims’ cars and walked away, as the victims fled the scene on foot and in different directions. Both called police.

Accurate descriptions of the defendants – in particular, of Curney who was described as short at 5 feet, 4 inches, and Livingston who was described as “tall” and “slim” and wearing red jogging pants – matched footage from Ring video cameras collected from the area just before the incident. Investigators were later able to match DNA from a rape kit to Curney. Police were also able to match latent fingerprints in the vehicle to Harris.

Police received calls about other cars in the area being broken into and a gun was reported stolen from one of the vehicles. Curney was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped and searched just over a month later, and the stolen gun was found in the car. Investigators questioned Curney, who matched video surveillance from the July 21 incident. He admitted being present during the rape and partially identified his co-defendants. When police searched his phone, they found frequent contacts and social media posts with Harris. Livingston was identified by his height – over 6 feet – and the bright red sweatpants he was wearing the night of the rape.

Managing Assistant District Attorney Ryan Smith prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorneys Selwin Patterson and Lindsey Share. Investigator Bernard Walls and Victim’s Advocate Chelsey Thomas assisted with the case. Gwinnett County Police were pivotal in closing the case.