Latasha Pyatt was jubilant outside a Gwinnett County courtroom Tuesday just moments after learning her fiancé, Danyel Smith, would be released on bond after 24 years in jail. In 2003, Smith was found guilty of murdering his infant son Chandler. The conviction was based on medical experts’ diagnosis that the baby’s death was a result […]
Criminal Justice
Posted inCriminal Justice
Two Black Comedians Challenged Police Stops at Atlanta’s Airport and Won
“I felt completely powerless. I felt violated. “I felt cornered.” Those were the words comedian Clayton English shared about his experience when plainclothes officers searched his bag at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in October 2020. They also asked if he had any cocaine or meth on him. Now, thanks to a lawsuit filed by […]
Posted inCourts, Juvenile Justice
Can DeKalb County Keep More Teens Out of Jail?
Mason was pulling out of a parking lot not far from home this spring when he got stopped by a Stone Mountain police officer on suspicion of driving without his headlights on. The officer then searched the car and discovered a small bag of marijuana. But instead of being thrown in jail, the 17-year-old was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Teen Arrested in Connection With Fatal Piedmont Park Shooting
Atlanta Police have announced the first arrest made in connection with the fatal 404 day shooting of 16-year-old Tianah Robinson in Piedmont Park four months ago. The accused, 17-year-old Kaine Burnette, surrendered himself to Fulton County Jail on July 30. The following day, the county solicitor’s office charged him with three misdemeanors: reckless conduct, discharging […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Tyler Perry Offers Funeral Support to Nolan Wells’ Family Amid Investigation
Inspired by a loss in his own family, Tyler Perry said he will cover funeral costs for the family of Nolan Xavier Wells, the 18-year-old student athlete found dead off the Mississippi Gulf Coast after a boat trip with a group of white friends. According to authorities, Wells was last seen July 4, around 3 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DeKalb Police Officer Charged With Shooting Unarmed Teen in the Back
A DeKalb County police officer was arrested Thursday in connection with the fatal shooting of a Savannah teen. Derrick Harris Jr., 37, was charged with reckless conduct and felony involuntary manslaughter for killing Seth Jayden Eccles, 19, during an arrest on the evening of July 7. Harris was released Thursday morning after less than an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
No Murder Charges for Off-Duty APD Officer Melvin Potter Despite Troubled History
Nearly two years after the shooting death of 38-year-old Devon Anderson, no criminal charges will be filed by the Fulton County district attorney’s office against Melvin Potter, the off-duty Atlanta police officer who killed the budding musician. Anderson’s mother, Valerie Lans-Anderson, learned of the decision last month. On June 22, she asked the Atlanta City […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
Legal Challenges Continue for Black Horseman in South Fulton
When Brandon Fulton bought the 27-acre property he plans to turn into a community ranch just outside Atlanta, he had no idea he’d end up spending as much time in a courtroom as he would developing his land. In the 10 years he has owned the property, Fulton has been in court dozens of times […]
Posted inCity Politics, Criminal Justice, Incarceration
She Avoided Jail and Rebuilt Her Life, but Others May Not Get the Same Chance
Tanesha Door said she doesn’t know where she would be today without the Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative and its case managers helping her to get her life back on track. Door, an Atlanta-native and Grady Hospital baby, moved back to Atlanta in 2018 with her infant son less than a year after leaving the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Mental Health, Policing, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
After Beltline Killing, Atlanta’s Diversion Center Faces Scrutiny
Less than two weeks before Jahmare Brown was arrested in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Alyssa Paige on the Beltline Trail, he had been accused of waving a knife and threatening to kill a man in downtown Atlanta. According to records uncovered by WSB-TV, Brown, 21, was not arrested in connection with the alleged threats […]
