Children of slain Macon woman sue Bibb sheriff, other employees

On Valentine's Day two years ago, surveillance cameras captured video of Jasento Flowers punching his estranged wife, knocking her unconscious.

He was taken to jail but was out on bail eight days later when he fatally shot his wife, Bridgette Flowers, once in the face.

Bridgette Flowers' children and the administrator of her estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bibb County Sheriff David Davis and six of his employees last week, alleging Jasento Flowers -- who was on parole -- shouldn't have been released on bond.

They contend jail policy dictated at the time that parolees who were arrested were supposed to be held at the jail until the Board of Pardons and Parole decides whether to revoke the person's parole, according to the lawsuit.

If Jasento Flowers' record had been checked -- and they say it wasn't -- it would have revealed his status, and no bond would have been set. That would have prevented his release, they allege.

The "defendants knew or should have known that Mr. Flowers would cause bodily harm to others, including Mrs. Flowers, if he was not controlled," according to the suit. They "had a duty to exercise reasonable care to control Mr. Flowers to prevent him from doing such harm."

By failing to follow their own parole and release policies and by failing to adequately train and supervise employees, the defendants' "breaches directly and proximately caused the injury and murder of Mrs. Flowers by Mr. Flowers," according to the suit.

Contacted for comment, Davis said, "We will move forward with our response through our attorney."

Macon-Bibb County spokesman Chris Floore said he was unable to comment because of the pending litigation.

Bridgette Flowers, 38, was fatally shot in the face as she sat in the driver's seat of her minivan on Trinity Place on Feb. 22, 2014.

Last year, jurors convicted Jasento Flowers, 45, of murder and four counts of aggravated assault stemming from the drive-by shooting of two other people and shots fired at others. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Prison records show Flowers is being held at Smith State Prison in Glennville.

He was paroled in 2001 after he had been sentenced to life in prison nine years earlier on a cocaine charge.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Children of slain Macon woman sue Bibb sheriff, other employees ."