Grand jury issue got Macon murder case tossed. Suspect gets charged again, wants dismissal
A man accused of murder, whose charges were initially dismissed based on a grand jury issue, is requesting a Macon judge to dismiss his new indictment, court records show.
Jaylen Smith and Jordan Mullis were accused of shooting and killing Montaveous Raines Jr. on June 29, 2024, but their case was dismissed before they could go to trial because prosecutors noticed the grand jury that indicted both men didn’t have enough people required by Georgia law.
The judge declared the indictment “defective and void” and dismissed it.
But both men were indicted again on Jan. 7 for the same incident that led to Raines’ death. New charges were added on top of their murder charges, which Bobby Bearden, attorney for Jaylen Smith, challenged as a “vindictive” move from the district attorney’s office.
Bearden wants the charges dismissed, he wrote in newly-filed court documents
Smith and Mullis are also facing aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a firearm charges.
“No other remedial option is available,” Bearden said in court records.
A third suspect was named in the first indictment, but they were not indicted again.
Raines was shot near a church in the 700 block of Greentree Parkway in the Lake Wildwood subdivision. Court records indicate that the victim and the suspects met up for a drug sale, but Raines attempted to rob them.
What attorney argues
Bearden said the new indictment was “vindictive” and penalized Smith for exercising his right to challenge the original charges.
The new indictment, that charges Smith with a more severe sentence was meant to punish him and put pressure on him to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit, Bearden said.
He also says Smith has been subjected to double jeopardy, and alleges this violates the 5th Amendment which says no person should be tried twice for the same crime. Regarding the first indictment, Bearden claims that Smith was goaded into moving for the mistrial and that prosecutors “knew that there was insufficient grand jurors to return the indictment.”
He also alleges prosecutors waited until their witness refused to testify before notifying the judge that there weren’t enough grand jurors to return the indictment.
Bearden also said Smith had a right to defend himself after Raines allegedly tried to rob him and Mullis, according to court records.
The district attorney’s office declined to comment when contacted.
