Drew FavakehSavannah Morning News
At a Thursday afternoon press conference, Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones announced the dismissal of several serious violent felony cases investigated by former Savannah Police officers Darryl Repress and Ashley Wood.
“While there were many cases to review, and a good number of those cases resulted in pleas, we have determined that several of the cases that were investigated by those officers must be dismissed either because of officer misconduct, under-investigation of cases by the Savannah Police Department, or a combination thereof,” said Jones, who was flanked by Chatham County DA Deputy Chief of Superior Court Brian DeBlasiis and Chatham County Lead Assistant District Attorney Lyle Burnham.
In late May, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Repress and Wood on multiple counts of perjury and violating their oaths of public office. Wood was indicted on four counts perjury and four counts of violating her oath of office. Repress was indicted on one count of perjury, three counts of violating his oath of public office, and two counts of making a false statement.
Before the press conference, Jones said she had contacted the family members of the victims to explain the process to them. “Those families suffer a grave injustice, not just because they lost a family member, but also because the criminal justice process will not be able to secure convictions in those cases for various legal and evidentiary reasons. Our hearts go out to them.”
More: Chatham County grand jury indicts two former Savannah officers for perjury, violation of oath
More: Defense attorney alleges former detective influenced witness in murder trial of Savannah man
More: Chatham County District Attorney considers prosecuting former SPD detective who falsified search warrants
More: Savannah Police officer fired for relationship with convicted felon
Which cases were affected by the Wood and Repress indictments?
In mid-December 2023, Jones confirmed to the Savannah Morning News that she was considering prosecuting Wood. In an email in early June of this year, Jones confirmed that the DA's Office was looking into six cases in which Wood and Repress were involved.
On Thursday afternoon, Jones listed six murder cases that she said her office must dismiss due to Wood’s and Repress’ involvement. Those cases included:
State of Georgia v. Marquis Parrish: In April 2021, a Chatham County Grand Jury indicted Parrish on two counts of felony murder charges, malice murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
On June 16, DeBlasiis dropped murder charges against Parrish, who had been charged in the 2021 murder of 23-year-old Charles Vinson.
According to court documents, Wood obtained 34 search warrants related to the investigation between early May and early June 2021. Wood was fired from SPD in July 2023 for falsifying information, including security footage and text messages, in multiple search warrant applications tied to the Vinson murder case. The indictment accuses Wood of knowingly making false statements relevant to probable cause in obtaining search warrants for multiple, separate crimes.
State of Georgia v. Stanley Hall; State of Georgia v. Jerell Williams; State of Georgia v. John Baker: On Aug. 10, 2021, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Stanley Hall, Jerrell Williams and John Baker on charges of malice murder and felony murder. The charges stem from an April 13, 2015, triple homicide of Anderson Mells, Gary Mells and Johnny Green inside a home on 36th and Live Oak streets. Repress was the lead detective listed on the indictment.
On Sept. 28, 2023, SPD terminated Repress after an internal affairs investigation found that he had a relationship with a convicted felon, according to documents obtained via open records request by the Savannah Morning News. An internal affairs investigation, launched in August 2023, stemmed from allegations that Repress was having a relationship with a woman, Phatemia Bigham, whom he also was using as a confidential informant.
State of Georgia v. Rakeem Carlton; State of Georgia v. Gilberto Mojica-Ravelo: On March 1, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Gilberto Mojica-Ravelo for malice murder, among other felony charges, stemming from an incident that took place in 2016, when Hannah Brown was shot and killed on New Castle Street, according to previous Savannah Morning News reporting. The grand jury also indicted Rakeem Carlton for a violation of the street gang terrorism act, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, for the same 2016 incident.
On Aug. 22, Burnham filed a motion to not prosecute, explaining that “the State does not feel that it can proceed to trial and prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In which cases were pleas reached?
Jones also listed cases investigated by either Wood or Repress that were resolved by plea or a reduced charge. Among those cases:
State of Georgia v. Aalyiah Duncan; State of Georgia v. Carlos Roundtree; State of Georgia v. Javaris Roundtree: The Duncan and Roundtree cases were tied to the 2021 murder of Vinson. Duncan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. On June 21, Duncan’s charges were reduced to voluntary manslaughter, and she was sentenced to 20 years, including three years to serve and 17 years on probation.
The DA's office did not prosecute Roundtree on murder charges, and a Chatham County grand jury reindicted Carolos Roundtree on April 27, 2023, for tampering with evidence tied to the same crime. Roundtree pleaded guilty one day later and was sentenced to 10 years, including two years to serve and eight years on probation.
Javaris Roundtree pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years to serve.
“Let me state first and foremost, that in addition to our sympathies that go out to the family members of these slain victims, our sympathies also are with their friends and community members whose lives were impacted by the loss of a loved one," said Jones, adding that these are the cases that keep her up at night. "No one, not anyone, no matter, race, color, creed, gender, class, zip code, affluence, school or any other affiliation deserves to meet a tragic end too soon by becoming a victim of violent crime. And this is why our office has worked so diligently to dedicate its highest and best resources to the full investigation and prosecution of these offenses.”
The press conference comes a little less than two months until Jones faces a reelection contest against Andre Pretorius, a Republican and a former deputy chief assistant for the Chatham County State Court. He now works part-time as an assistant Chatham County attorney. Jones and Pretorius will square off during a candidate forum on Sept. 16, hosted by the League of Women’s Voters of Coastal Georgia at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St.
Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.
