Man who confessed to fatal Macon shooting on stand faces murder case. He claims self-defense
The man who confessed to fatally shooting someone while on the stand in his own brother’s murder trial has now been charged with murder himself, but he’s seeking to have his case dismissed for self-defense.
Jacorey Dean, the brother of Jordan Dean, faces charges of murder, aggravated assault, possessing a firearm and evidence tampering for the death of Nathaniel Fuller. Jordan Dean had been charged with the same murder, but during his trial, his brother took the stand and said he was the one who fatally shot Fuller. The testimony threw a wrench in the prosecution’s case, and Jordan Dean was acquitted on murder charges, according to media reports.
Both brothers were indicted after the acquittal, with Jordan Dean facing a new round of evidence tampering charges. Both brothers want their cases dismissed, according to court filings entered last week.
Jacorey Dean argues in court records that he and his brother were being threatened by Fuller, who allegedly pulled a gun on them and rammed his car into the brothers’ vehicle during a road rage incident, according to court documents.
“At that point in time, Jacorey Dean reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself and ... his brother,” says his request to have his case dismissed.
Jordan Dean’s case ended with an acquittal on murder and aggravated assault charges, but he still was convicted of evidence tampering and possessing a gun during the commission of a felony. The gun conviction was vacated by Judge Jeffery Monroe because Jordan Dean wasn’t convicted of murder or assault.
He was sentenced to a year in the Bibb County Jail, 300 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine. However, court records show that since he had been in jail since April, was credited for time served and was released on Oct. 18.
District Attorney Anita Howard, of the Macon Judicial Circuit, appealed the jury’s decision to acquit Jordan Dean of murder in November. That appeal currently is pending in the Georgia Court of Appeals.
“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,” Travis Griffin, the attorney representing Jordan Dean during his murder trial, said.
P. Mackenzie Miller is representing Jordan Dean on the new indictment and Keith Fitzgerald is representing Jacorey Dean on his murder charges.
What led up to the shooting?
Jacorey and Jordan Dean were traveling early in the morning on April 10 from an apartment complex on Chambers Road toward Eisenhower Parkway in their mother’s white Dodge Challenger, court records say. Jordan Dean drove the muscle car while Jacorey Dean sat in the front passenger seat, according to court documents.
At the intersection of Bloomfield Road and Bloomfield Drive, the brothers stopped behind a blue Chevy Blazer driven by Fuller, court records say.
As they drove through Eisenhower Parkway, Fuller brake checked the brothers, which led Jordan Dean to travel to the second lane to pass the vehicle, court records say. The passenger door of the Challenger was next to the Fuller’s Blazer, according to court records.
Fuller’s windows were rolled down and he had pointed a pistol toward the brothers, when Jordan Dean “stopped short” and was close to the back bumper of the Blazer, court records show.
Both cars traveled near each other for more than a mile and a half, with Fuller attempting to ram the Challenger and pointing a gun toward the vehicle out of an open window, court records show. Jordan Dean fired a “warning shot” through the windshield with their mother’s firearm, but it did not stop Fuller, the court documents allege. He “sped up more to position himself directly next to” the Challenger.
Jacorey Dean fired at Fuller and shot him, court records say.
Jordan Dean dropped Jacorey Dean off at his home, gave him their mother’s gun, and drove to Bass Pro Shop, where he worked, court records say. The brothers then drove the Challenger to their mother’s house on Fort Hill Street. Because of a gunshot hole in the windshield and a damaged passenger door, they covered the car with a tarp to prevent rust and further damage to the vehicle, according to court records.
They did not know Fuller had died court records allege.
After the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, investigators arrested Jordan Dean on charges murder and tampering with evidence charges, according to court records. Jacorey Dean was never contacted by deputies throughout the investigation, court documents say.
Only during the trial was Jacorey Dean’s presence in the Challenger mentioned, court records show.
Jordan Dean wants his charges dismissed too
Miller argued Monday that Jordan Dean’s case, which accused him of three counts of tampering with evidence, should not go forward after a jury had already convicted him of tampering with evidence in October.
Even though prosecutors could argue that Jordan Dean was accused of tampering with evidence based on different facts, Miller says the second indictment still alleges the same crime, “with which (Jordan Dean) should have been charged in the former prosecution and is a crime that involves the same conduct.”
The district attorney’s office has not responded to requests for comment as of Tuesday.
