Atlanta attorney Bryan Keith Schmitt, whose murder conviction was overturned in the 2019 death of real estate investor Hamid Jahangard, was granted a $500,000 bond Thursday as he awaits a second trial.
But the ongoing gang and racketeering case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug, the longest trial in Georgia history, could impact the timing.
Atlanta attorney Brian Steel, who represents the Grammy-winning musician, has joined Schmitt’s legal team. He told the judge this week he likely wouldn’t be available for trial until spring 2025 at the earliest.
Schmitt, who worked as corporate attorney for a software development company, was convicted of murder and other charges in Jahangard’s death. The widowed father of two succumbed to his injuries days after being struck by Schmitt’s Mercedes-Benz. The deadly encounter followed an argument over an errant golf ball on the side of a busy Sandy Springs road.
Credit: H.M. Patterson & Son-Arlington Chapel obituary
Credit: H.M. Patterson & Son-Arlington Chapel obituary
Schmitt’s conviction was overturned earlier this year by the Georgia Supreme Court, which ruled that Fulton County Judge Melynee Leftridge erred by not instructing the jury what constitutes an accident under the law.
She also told jurors to disregard “accident” as a key legal principle in the case even though Schmitt’s entire defense rested on his contention that he never meant to hit anyone.
Schmitt, 53, testified that he never meant to harm Jahangard, whom he suspected of throwing the golf ball at his sedan.
Jahangard’s family argued against his release and left the courthouse in tears.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
“As he awaits a second trial, the only place for Bryan Schmitt is behind bars,” Jahangard’s daughter, Sahar Jahangard, told Judge Leftridge. “He knows the evidence is overwhelming and a second conviction is imminent.”
She said her father, an immigrant from Iran, embodied the American dream, a dream she said was “tragically cut short by this killer.”
“Why should Bryan Schmitt be allowed to be with his family and friends when he took everything from us?” Sahar Jahangard asked the judge.
Authorites say Schmitt made a U-turn and confronted Jahangard, who they believe lost control of the golf ball he was bouncing near the street.
The two exchanged words, then Schmitt turned sharply across traffic and accelerated into the driveway where Jahangard stood.
He said he meant to pull in next to Jahangard and “sort out what had happened,” but underestimated the turning radius of his Mercedes.
“I see it in my head every day,” Schmitt said at trial. “It’s a mistake that I have struggled with for three years.”
Prosecutors contend he purposely rammed the 60-year-old in a fit of rage, causing the skull fractures that led to his death.
The fatal collision was captured on two cameras, a surveillance system from a nearby home and a camera mounted to the dashboard of a passing HVAC truck.
Video showed Schmitt quickly hopping out of his car and trying to help the injured Jahangard, who was bleeding from his ears after striking his head on the concrete. Schmitt, who received medical training while in the Army, said he placed Jahangard on his back and stabilized his head as he waited for help.
He was allowed to drive away from the scene that evening, but Jahangard’s shattered cellphone was later traced to Schmitt’s home, police testified at trial. It was found against the windshield of the Mercedes.
Schmitt’s attorney, Don Samuel, told the judge that his client had been granted bond ahead of the first trial and that he complied with the conditions imposed.
“There’s no reason to believe he poses a danger to the community or to intimidate any witnesses,” Samuel said at Thursday’s bond hearing.
More than 20 supporters, including Schmitt’s parents, attended the hearing. An old military friend called Schmitt “a model citizen” and another witness described him as “a voice of reason.”
“He was always the calm, collected, mature person in the room when there was conflict,” said Daniel Gelderman, who met Schmitt in the Army more than two decades ago. “I can’t see him being physical or violent at all.”
Prosecutor Adam Abbate said Schmitt didn’t act especially reasonably the afternoon of July 30, 2019, when he turned his car around to confront Jahangard and then “ran him over with his vehicle.”
Credit: GoFundMe
Credit: GoFundMe
Leftridge granted Schmitt a $500,000 bond, but said he must wear an ankle monitor and surrender his passport to his attorney. He is not allowed to operate motor vehicles, must stay in Fulton County and is required to be home daily between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
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