Prosecutor says ‘best evidence’ was needed for Fort Valley murder suspect to be re-arrested
District Attorney Anita Howard says her office wanted to present “the best case possible” when it came to the man who was arrested this week for the second time in Peach County for a deadly crash that happened last year.
Najee Shakeem Woolfolk was arrested at his home after a grand jury indicted him on charges of murder, malice murder and aggravated assault for allegedly killing a pedestrian in a car crash in Fort Valley last year. Woolfolk was arrested not long after the crash, but he was released from detainment after a grand jury didn’t indict him on the charges.
There wasn’t enough evidence to tie him to the case at the time, said Sheriff Terry Deese. But Howard’s office gathered more evidence and a grand jury issued an indictment, which led to his re-arrest.
“We get one opportunity to put (on) this case and we want to go with the best evidence,” Howard told The Telegraph.
Howard said prosecutors kept looking into the case after Woolfolk wasn’t indicted the first time.
“If you verify that indictment, that shows that we don’t stop because it is our job to continuously seek justice regardless of the stage of the case that we’re in,” Howard said.
The Fort Valley Police Department said police responded to the crash in October 2023. They found a man unresponsive in a driveway, and even though they tried to perform life-saving aid, he died.
Investigators followed up on leads and arrested Woolfolk shortly after the crash.
