A man who shot and killed an off-duty Fulton County deputy was acquitted of murder and aggravated assault charges on Friday afternoon after telling a jury he only fired the gun in self-defense.
Alton Deshawn Oliver was acquitted on charges in the December fatal 2022 shooting of Deputy James Thomas, 24.
“Mr. Oliver, good luck to you,” Fulton County Senior Judge Henry M. Newkirk told Oliver after dismissing the jury.
Newkirk initially misspoke and said Oliver had been found guilty on all counts but jurors quickly corrected him and he realized that the verdict was not guilty.
“We always respect the jury’s verdict,” a Fulton County District Attorney’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Oliver was walking home on Bolton Road when Thomas approached him three times, according to case evidence. According to news reports and Oliver’s testimony, he claimed Thomas was making sexual advances to him, which he declined.
After the third time Thomas approached, Oliver pulled out a gun and fatally shot Thomas inside his gray Ford Fusion, then fled the scene, according to testimony and police records.
Prosecutors argued Oliver hadn’t acted out of fear, but rather, that he’d murdered Thomas.
“That man murdered James Thomas without justification,” Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Sperry said during closings, according to Atlanta News First.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Defense attorney Kristin Howell called Thomas a “predator” who saw her client as an “easy target” and “prey.”
“(Thomas) was shot because he was a predator, not because he was shooting his shot,” Howell said during closing arguments, according to a livestream by FOX 5 News.
Before starting deliberations, Sperry asked jurors to have Thomas’ name in mind when making their decisions and give his family justice and peace.
“You get to give peace to the family that has been traumatized again and again and again, when their son is referred to as an animal,” Sperry said. “He is not an animal, he was a human being, he was a son, he was a brother and he deserved the right not to be six feet under the ground.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Thomas previously served in the U.S. Army. He later moved to Georgia, where he began employment as a cadet with the MARTA Police Department in August 2020 before resigning three months later.
In 2022, he joined the Milledgeville Police Department but was recruited and joined the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office just six weeks later in August 2022.
Thomas was assigned to the detention unit at Grady Memorial Hospital at the time of the shooting.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat called the shooting a “heinous crime” at a press conference shortly after the incident.
In a statement Friday, Labat said he respected the jury’s verdict and the judicial process but acknowledge it does not negate “the loss his family, friends, and our Fulton County Sheriff’s Office team has endured.”
“James Thomas was a young deputy full of promise and potential. His presence is still missed in roll calls, in our facilities and in the hearts of the women and men who served alongside him,” Labat said in a statement.
“As we move forward as a community, opinions may differ, but it is in our mutual respect for the law and for one another that will ultimately brings the healing and unity we need during this time.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
