Sandy Springs police have re-arrested a woman suspected in a deadly hit-and-run after they attempted to bring new charges against her in jail but found out she had been released on bond the day before.
Dominique Houston, 38, was released from jail Wednesday after authorities said she hit and killed a Sandy Springs man who was walking his dog while she was fleeing from another hit-and-run crash, according to records. A Fulton County Superior Court judge granted Houston an unsecured judicial release, court records show.
Now, she is facing new charges and additional warrants have been taken out against her by Sandy Springs police, according to spokesman Sgt. Salvador Ortega. Those new charges include speeding (68 mph in a 35-mph zone), failure to yield to a pedestrian, possession of Schedule 1 narcotics, cruelty to animals and multiple counts of failing to obey traffic control devices.
According to investigators, Houston is accused of nearly hitting another pedestrian at an intersection as she fled from the first hit-and-run crash. Sandy Springs police re-arrested Houston just before 10 p.m. Thursday.
Houston was originally jailed on six charges, including first-degree vehicular homicide, in the crash that resulted in the death of 25-year-old Michael Farmer on Sunday evening.
Friends said Farmer was a rugby coach in the north Fulton area. He coached high school-aged players for the Rebels Rugby club out of Roswell.
“He was 25, a Rugby man, a good man, a coach, a leader of young Rebels,” the organization wrote in a Facebook post. “He will be greatly missed by the Rebels Rugby family.”
Farmer’s close friend, Sam Stephenson, told Channel 2 Action News the young coach was “an infectiously kind person.”
“Just the moment I met him, I knew he was going to be a good fit for these kids,” Stephenson said.
Credit: Sandy Springs Police Department
Credit: Sandy Springs Police Department
Sandy Springs police said Farmer was walking his dog on Hammond Drive near Glenridge Drive just before 8 p.m. when he was hit by a white sedan. He died at the scene. His dog, a Catahoula Leopard Dog named Bruce, also died in the crash.
Investigators said Houston was fleeing from a hit-and-run with another car in the area of Roswell Road and I-285. Driving a white 2020 Chevrolet Malibu with Florida tags, police believe Houston was speeding away from the first accident when she hit Farmer, Ortega said.
Lusia Rosas was driving the car police said Houston rear-ended, Channel 2 reported.
“All of a sudden she just pulled back and went around me and left,” Rosas said.
Sandy Springs investigators were able to identify the car involved and target Houston as the suspect, Ortega said.
After bringing Houston in for an interview, Sandy Springs police arrested her and charged her with multiple counts, including the vehicular homicide charge, two counts of hit-and-run and one count each of following too closely and reckless driving, Ortega said.
The Rebels said the loss of Farmer will be felt by groups throughout north Fulton’s rugby community.
“He played for a number of teams and the love for Michael across the rugby community is huge,” the Rebels said.
