Appeals court says Macon judge was wrong to vacate a conviction tied to fatal shooting
A Georgia appeals court has ruled that a Macon man should be sentenced for possessing a gun during the commission of a felony, even though a jury found him not guilty of the underlying felony, according to court records. The man could face a new prison sentence later this month.
The ruling from the appellate judges was issued in the case of Jordan Dean, a man who was put on trial for the death of Nathaniel Fuller, who was shot to death in a road rage incident in April 2024. Dean was in a vehicle with his brother, Jacorey Dean, at the time. During the trial in October 2024, Jacorey Dean admitted to being the shooter while testifying on the stand.
The brothers said they fired at Fuller in self-defense, and a jury acquitted Jordan Dean on charges of murder and aggravated assault.
However, the jury still found him guilty of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony and evidence tampering. Bibb County Superior Court Judge Jeffery Monroe vacated the gun conviction, ruling that it was a “logical conclusion” that the conviction should not have happened because Jordan Dean was acquitted of the felony tied to the charge.
Macon District Attorney Anita Howard disagreed, appealing the ruling to vacate the conviction. Appellate judges have sided with her.
“Georgia law allows for inconsistent verdicts,” the appeals court said in court records.
“Our appellate courts have held repeatedly that a defendant can be found guilty of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, even if he or she is found not guilty of the underlying felony,” the judges said. “The (District Attorney’s Office) argues that in (Jordan Dean’s) case, the evidence was sufficient for the conviction for Count 4, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, such felony being aggravated assault. We agree.”
Evidence was presented in the trial showing that Jordan Dean shot his Glock firearm through the windshield of his car as a “warning shot” during the road rage altercation with Fuller, according to the appellate judges’ ruling. The Dean brothers were afraid because Fuller was acting aggressively and brandished a gun at them, leading Jacorey Dean to shoot Fuller multiple times until he died. When Monroe announced he would vacate his gun possession charge, Anita Howard, the district attorney, appealed the decision.
As a result of the appellate judge’s ruling, Jordan Dean will be resentenced on Nov. 21. The first time he was sentenced, he was ordered to serve a year. But he was credited for time already served, court records say.
What happened with Jacorey Dean’s case?
After Jacorey Dean confessed to being the one who shot and killed Fuller in the April 2024 incident, both of the Dean brothers were indicted over the same case in December 2024, court records show. This time, Jacorey Dean was charged with murder, aggravated assault, possessing a firearm, and evidence tampering.
Jacorey Dean’s murder charges were dismissed in February when Judge Ken Smith ruled that, after hearing how Fuller was aggressive toward them, he agreed that the Dean brothers were shooting Fuller in self-defense and deserved to be immune from prosecution on the murder and aggravated assault charges.
“I think he deserves immunity,” Smith said. “There’s no evidence here in what way, shape or form to prove that there has been anything ... uncontroversial. I’m not trying to minimize what the state is trying to do here ... but at the end of the day, the only testimony I have for purposes of the immunity hearing is effectively consistent.”
Jacorey Dean pleaded guilty to his tampering with evidence charges in March, but the result of his sentencing was unclear, according to court records.
