Man charged in deputy’s death indicted on murder, vehicular homicide charges

Bibb County grand jurors voted to indict a Macon man Tuesday in the May 5 traffic-crash death of T. J. Freeman, a Bibb County Sheriff’s Office investigator.

Martavius Taquan Kinder is charged with felony murder, fleeing or trying to elude a police officer, DUI and misdemeanor marijuana possession. He also is charged with three counts of homicide by vehicle stemming from allegations of reckless driving, that he was driving under the influence of marijuana and that he eluded police, according to an indictment filed in Bibb County Superior Court.

Freeman, 29, had come to the aid of other deputies who were pursing a suspicious vehicle about 3 a.m.

Kinder, 24, is accused of eluding deputy Omar Sanders, failing to stop a Toyota Camry he was driving on Buena Vista Drive at Columbus Road despite being given audible and visual signals to stop, according to the indictment.

Driving in excess of 20 mph above the posted speed limit and “in traffic conditions which place the general public at risk,” Kinder broadsided Freeman’s Dodge Magnum patrol car, sending it spinning into the brick porch of a nearby house and fatally injuring Freeman, according to indictment.

Authorities also allege that Kinder was driving under the influence of marijuana and in “reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property by failing to obey traffic control devices and stop signs,” according to the indictment.

A Georgia State Patrol officer testifying at a May hearing in the case said Kinder told authorities he didn’t stop because he had pending warrants against him, didn’t have a driver’s license and knew he had marijuana in the car.

Reached for comment Tuesday, Kinder’s attorney, Franklin J. Hogue, said, the case will center on why Kinder drove as he did.

Testimony at his commitment hearing showed Kinder stopped to ask occupants of an unmarked car if they needed help. Unbeknownst to Kinder, the car contained nonuniformed officers conducting surveillance, Hogue said.

“When the officers told Kinder ‘no,’ and as Kinder began to drive off, that unmarked car began to follow him,” the attorney said. It wasn’t until later that a marked patrol car joined the case.

Testimony at the hearing indicated that there may not be any dash cam or body cam footage of Kinder’s encounters with police early that morning, he said.

“The charges are serious, and there will be much work ahead in defending this young man,” Hogue said.

Freeman was a K-9 handler. His dog, Bojar, was in the car at the time of the crash, but survived.

Kinder, also known by the nickname Tadpole, was treated at the hospital for minor injuries and is being held at the Monroe County jail.

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Man charged in deputy’s death indicted on murder, vehicular homicide charges."