The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday, November 13, that it has dismissed all charges against Alexander Krause, 46, in the 2022 shooting death of his brother, Atlanta rapper Archie Eversole, after prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: Focal News (Atlanta), reporting the DeKalb County DA's announcement
The decision closes a case that had been pending for more than four years. With trial scheduled for next week, prosecutors drafted a nolle prosequi order — the formal filing by which a prosecutor declines to pursue a case — dismissing every charge against Krause.
The night of March 25, 2022
Eversole, 37, best known for his 2001 sports anthem 'We Ready,' was shot in the face on March 25, 2022, at the home he shared with Krause in unincorporated DeKalb County, according to the DA's office. Eversole walked from the home to a gas station on Snapfinger Woods Drive shortly after 7:30 a.m. to seek help. He told responding officers that someone had shot him while he was sleeping but was unable to identify the shooter. He later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Investigators who went to the home found Krause with blood on his socks. He told officers the blood got there when he went into his brother's room to check on him after hearing a gunshot. Krause was arrested, and a DeKalb County grand jury indicted him in April 2023 on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was released on bond in August 2022 while awaiting trial, according to the DA's account reported by Focal News.
The case had previously drawn attention after prosecutors said Eversole made statements implicating his brother in the shooting. During an earlier court hearing, Krause's attorney disputed that account, arguing Eversole never identified his brother as the shooter.
Why prosecutors say the case fell apart
As prosecutors continued investigating while preparing for trial, the DA's office said its review uncovered evidence that raised questions about whether Krause was responsible. Investigators found no evidence of a dispute between the brothers. An analysis of Eversole's phone revealed messages between the two that corroborated they appeared to have a good relationship.
The gun also complicated the case. The brothers shared ownership of the gun involved in the shooting; it was recovered from Eversole's bedroom, and testing found both brothers' DNA on the weapon. The DA's office said the overall evidence could not rule out the reasonable possibility that Eversole's injury was self-inflicted. Although a motive was never identified, the office said that alone was not legally required to prosecute the case — the problem was the evidence as a whole.
"Our decision in this matter reflects our commitment to justice, fairness, and transparency," the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office said in its statement announcing the dismissal.
The 'We Ready' legacy, and what happens next
Eversole's 'We Ready,' released in 2001, became a staple at sporting events across the country and made him one of Atlanta's best-known sports-anthem artists; Atlanta United was among the teams that publicly honoured him after his death in 2022, in background reporting on the original case. The dismissal brings a quiet end to a case that had cast a shadow over that legacy for more than four years.
What happens next is procedural, not a new trial: the nolle prosequi order dismisses all charges, the trial scheduled for next week does not go ahead, and the DA's office has presented the decision as final — a case closed because, in the prosecutors' own assessment, the evidence could not meet the standard for a conviction. Krause had faced malice murder, the most serious charge in Georgia law; those allegations are now withdrawn, and he is not convicted of any offence in this case.