Newkirk first misspoke when he claimed that Oliver had been found guilty on all counts, but he soon recognized that the result was not guilty after the jurors corrected him.
In a statement, a representative for the district attorney for Fulton County stated, “We always respect the jury’s verdict.”
According to prosecution testimony, Thomas approached Oliver three times as he was making his way home on Bolton Road. Oliver’s testimony and news accounts indicate that he said Thomas was making sexual advances to him, which he turned down.
According to police documents and testimony, Oliver took out his gun after Thomas approached him a third time, shot him dead inside his gray Ford Fusion, and then ran away.
The prosecution contended that Oliver had killed Thomas and had not acted out of fear.
According to Atlanta News First, Christopher Sperry, the chief deputy district attorney for Fulton County, stated during closings that the guy killed James Thomas without cause.
Channel 2 Action News is credited.
Channel 2 Action News is credited.
Kristin Howell, the defense lawyer, referred to Thomas as a predator who saw her client as a simple prey item.
According to a FOX 5 News livestream, Howell stated during closing arguments that Thomas was shot because he was a predator and not because he was firing his shot.
Sperry urged jurors to consider Thomas’ name when rendering their verdicts and to provide justice and peace to his family before the deliberations began.
Sperry stated, “You get to bring peace to the family that has been traumatized repeatedly when their son is called an animal.” As a human being, a brother, a son, and a human being, he is not an animal and should not be under the ground.
Ben Hendren is credited.
Ben Hendren is credited.
Thomas was in the U.S. Army before. After that, he relocated to Georgia, where he started working for the MARTA Police Department in August 2020 as a cadet until quitting three months later.
He joined the Milledgeville Police Department in 2022, but six weeks later, in August of the same year, he was recruited and joined the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
At the time of the incident, Thomas was in the Grady Memorial Hospital’s detention unit.
At a press conference soon after the shooting, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat referred to the shooting as a “heinous crime.”
Labat acknowledged in a statement released on Friday that while he appreciated the jury’s decision and the legal system, it does not take away from the loss his family, friends, and our Fulton County Sheriff’s Office team had experienced.
Young and full of potential, James Thomas was a deputy. According to a statement from Labat, his presence is still missed in roll calls, our facilities, and the hearts of the men and women who served with him.
Opinions may vary as we go as a community, but the healing and togetherness we require during this time will eventually come from our shared respect for the law and for each other.
