Former Washington County deputies indicted again on murder charges in stun-gun death

For a second time, three former Washington County deputies have been indicted on felony murder charges in the stun-gun death of a Milledgeville man in July 2017.

Michael Howell, Henry Lee Copeland and Rhett Scott were indicted late Tuesday afternoon on two counts each of felony murder and involuntary manslaughter and one count each of false imprisonment, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless conduct in connection to the July 7, 2017, death of 58-year-old Eurie Martin.

Martin was stunned multiple times by the deputies before he was handcuffed in the front yard of a Deepstep home, where police had encountered him while checking on report of a suspicious person. In a video of the incident, Martin appeared to be experiencing physical distress before becoming unresponsive. He died in the yard.

The deputies were fired from the Washington County Sheriff's Office after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that the officers had violated police procedures.

In December, the deputies were indicted on felony murder and related charges, but a judge set aside the indictment because a court reporter was not present for the grand jury proceedings on that case, said Hayward Altman, district attorney for the Middle Judicial Circuit.

Most times, grand jury hearings are secret and a court reporter is not present. But Georgia law allows for officers accused of excessive force to testify during a grand jury hearing and for a court reporter to transcribe the proceedings involving only that case.

Because the officers chose not to testify, the court reporter was released, Altman said. A judge later found that the court reporter should have been present for the grand jury hearing and the indictment was set aside, Altman said.

Altman could have appealed the judge's order, but chose to present the case to a new grand jury, which returned the new indictment late Tuesday afternoon after listening to five hours of testimony, Altman said.

The deputies are expected to remain free on bond pending trial, Altman said.

No entry of appearance that indicates the attorney representing a defendant had been filed as of Wednesday for any of the deputies in either the new or old indictment case file in Washington County Superior Court.

An arraignment date has not yet be set.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Former Washington County deputies indicted again on murder charges in stun-gun death."