Jury acquitted Macon murder suspect after his brother confessed to killing. Now DA appeals
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story made it unclear which aspect of Jordan Dean’s acquittal was being vacated. This story has been updated to properly reflect the appeal.
Macon District Attorney Anita R. Howard is appealing a decision made by a local judge to vacate a man’s conviction of possessing a gun during the commission of a felony.
Howard filed an appeal Thursday, according to court documents.
The district attorney’s office sought to have Jordan Dean convicted of shooting Nathaniel Fuller to death in 2024. Deputies found Fuller inside his blue Chevrolet Blazer in front of his home, multiple news sources say. Jordan Dean’s case went to trial on Oct. 11.
But the murder suspect’s brother, Jacorey Dean, turned the case on its head when he confessed during the trial to killing Fuller, according to multiple news sources.
The jury acquitted Jordan Dean of felony murder, malice murder and aggravated assault. They found him guilty of possessing a gun during the commission of a felony and tampering with evidence. But Judge Jeffery Monroe, who presided over the case, decided to vacate Dean’s conviction for possessing a gun during the commission of a felony, court records say. Monroe ruled that vacating the conviction was reasonable because Dean had been acquitted of the underlying felony related to that charge.
Jacorey Dean was taken into custody after his confession, according to news sources.
The notice of appeal, signed by Howard and Cynthia Adams, says that they are granted a right to appeal the vacated conviction under Georgia law considering the decision was taken from “an order, decision or judgment of a court where the court does not have jurisdiction or the order is otherwise void under the Constitution or laws of this state.”
The case will be sent to judges in the Court of Appeals for them to review and hold a hearing for both the prosecutors and Jordan Dean’s attorney to present their case. If judges agree with Howard, the decision could be reversed.
Howard’s office provided few additional details in a statement Friday.
“The Jordan Dean case is ongoing and pending in our Office,” the district attorney’s office said. “ In order to preserve the rights of all parties, we, therefore, cannot discuss or make any statements about the case at the current time.”
Attorney: Dean brothers ‘forced to act in self-defense’
Travis Griffin, the attorney representing Jordan Dean, said that his team “does not believe the State’s prospective appeal is meritorious, and we expect the Court of Appeals to agree.”
Griffin’s team said the Dean brothers were forced to act in self-defense when they were confronted by Fuller, an aggressive driver who allegedly chased them for almost 2 miles on Eisenhower Parkway while repeatedly ramming their car and pointing a handgun.
“A Bibb County jury agreed with Jordan Dean that his actions were taken in self-defense, but Ms. Howard’s office is seemingly incapable of accepting this situation for what it is,” Griffin said.
This story was originally published November 8, 2024 at 11:24 AM.
