Prosecutors close Macon murder case, say there’s not enough evidence. Here’s why
Multiple issues with evidence have caused the Macon district attorney’s office to close a murder case, according to court records from last week.
The murder case against Jasirian Thomas was dismissed Oct. 16 after prosecutors were unable to connect him to the shooting death of Ledarius Clark, who died in 2021 in the Unionville neighborhood. The evidentiary issues stemmed from misplaced evidence, the death of Thomas’ mother, a crucial witness to the case, and eyewitnesses unable to identify Thomas as the shooter, Assistant District Attorney Tony May said in a request to dismiss the case.
May said that investigator Omar Sanders had misplaced a cellphone recovered at the scene of the crime, which was “reportedly the cause of the argument involving the death of Mr. Clark,” according to court records. It was not the first time that Sanders had misplaced evidence, as prosecutors recently discovered that a storage room at the sheriff’s office contained evidence and additional case files.
Sanders previously worked for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, according to prior Telegraph reporting. The sheriff’s office didn’t immediately respond to request for comment for this story.
Though the cellphone was eventually located, prosecutors determined they needed further investigation in the case to prove Thomas’ guilt.
Struggle to find witnesses
Thomas’ mother, Sonya Johnson, who was a crucial witness in the case, has died, Prosecutors tried to find other witnesses able to identify Thomas as the shooter, but “none of the eyewitnesses from the crime scene were able to identify the Defendant as being present or involved in the crime,” according to May.
There were witnesses who told prosecutors that the shooter went by “Man Man,” and there was no evidence that Thomas was known under that nickname, the court document said. Though prosecutors were able to identify a person who goes by that nickname, the eyewitnesses of Clark’s death were unable to identify the perpetrator.
Further, the testimony from one of the witnesses who identified Thomas as the shooter was refuted.
“With the eyewitnesses being unable to identify the Defendant as having been at the crime scene, there is no remaining competent evidence implicating the Defendant in this crime,” May said.
The district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office have not responded to requests for comment prior to publication.
DA’s office previously acknowledged evidence issues
Thomas previously argued that he wanted his charges dismissed after waiting for two years for his case to go to trial, even though he requested a speedy trial. Katherine Dodd, his attorney, said that his right for a speedy trial was violated, which led Thomas to live, both in and out of custody, with the weight of the allegations, according to court records.
Prosecutors with the district attorney’s office hadn’t provided Dodd with evidence against Thomas by the time she filed the request for dismissal on Sept. 11, eventually arguing that “there was no admissible evidence connecting Mr. Thomas to the crime,” according to court records.
However, when asked for a comment on the request for dismissal, Susan Ryan, the spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said it represents routine legal maneuvering that stemmed from Dodd’s oversight.
Dodd hadn’t filed the request for speedy trial within the time frame, and was not given special permission to file the request late, according to Ryan. Ryan did acknowledge that there were “evidentiary deficiencies” in the case, which resulted in Senior Assistant District Attorney Dawn Baskin in offering to dismiss Thomas’ case, which he denied.
Dodd’s request was heard by Judge Ken Smith, but he was unable to rule on the request until prosecutors could provide admissible evidence that linked Thomas to the crime. They had until Oct. 17, which is when the official dismissal request was filed by prosecutors.
