A Clayton County grand jury has decided against indicting the police officer who fatally shot Eric Holmes in Morrow last year as Holmes fled in a car that had been reported stolen by Rome police.
Clayton District Attorney Tasha Mosley announced the grand jury’s decision at a news conference Friday, while displaying police video footage in which Clayton Officer Justin Stephens can be heard repeatedly ordering Holmes to step out of a 2014 Kia Optima. Stephens testified that he fired his pistol after Holmes disobeyed his commands and reached toward a firearm inside the Optima, Mosley said.
Holmes drove away before veering into a ditch, mortally wounded. Two handguns were found in the Optima, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Before reaching its decision, the grand jury heard testimony from the GBI and Stephens and reviewed his bodycam video as well as photos from the scene. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has requested a copy of the GBI’s investigative report.
Mosley said her office continued to look into the case after the grand jury’s decision.
“Because the follow-up investigation uncovered no new or conflicting evidence regarding the actions of Officer Stephens, there was no justification to present this case to another grand jury,” Mosley told reporters inside the Clayton County Courthouse. “In conclusion, this case is officially closed.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Holmes’ mother attended Mosley’s news conference and grew emotional as she listened to the video footage of his harrowing encounter with Stephens. Friends and family consolingly embraced her in the courtroom.
“If he stole a car, you lock him up. You don’t shoot him up,” Vakelvion Holmes told reporters moments later. “My baby did not deserve to die.”
Eric Holmes, 19, grew up in Decatur, attended Stephenson High School in the Stone Mountain area and enjoyed working on cars, his mother said. He left behind a 4-year-old son.
Credit: The Cochran Firm
Credit: The Cochran Firm
Stephens resigned on Dec. 19 “in lieu of termination,” according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records. One of his attorneys, Ken Davis, said Stephens believes “the GBI and Clayton District Attorney’s Office performed a thorough and unbiased investigation and a duly empaneled grand jury made the correct decision. The loss of any life is tragic; this is certainly not the outcome anyone wanted and Mr. Holmes’ family is in our prayers.”
When Stephens caught up to the Optima on Nov. 21, according to the GBI, he pulled Holmes out of it and “provided initial medical care until emergency medical technicians arrived.” Holmes was taken to a hospital where he later died.
In the video footage Mosley displayed Friday, Stephens can be heard urgently radioing for assistance and telling Holmes, “Stay with me! Come on! Stay with me!”
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