Ex-DeKalb officer reindicted in 2022 shooting death in prosecutor’s redo
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston’s office will try again after a previous indictment against a former DeKalb police officer involved in the 2022 shooting death of a man in Stone Mountain had to be scrapped earlier this year to avoid a legal technicality.
Boston’s office said Tuesday Russell Mathis, 32, had been indicted once again in the November 2022 death of Marando Salmon, 37. Mathis is facing the same charges: involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.
Mathis’ fellow officer, Jordan Vance, had been indicted under the original indictment but the DA’s office said prosecutors won’t seek charges against Vance under the new indictment.
“After thoroughly reexamining the facts of the case, the trial team decided to focus the prosecution of the case on Mathis, who fired the fatal shots,” a DA statement said.
In April, attorneys for Mathis told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that prosecutors had used the same internal affairs witness in front of the grand jury and during one of the officers’ immunity hearings, which isn’t allowed.
Because of the mistake, the DA opted to toss the indictment and start over with a new grand jury, the AJC previously reported.
“After careful consideration, in an abundance of caution and to remove any potential legal issue that could arise down the road at trial or on appeal, the difficult decision was made to (dismiss) the current indictment,” Boston’s office said in an April statement.
Mathis and Vance responded to a call on Nov. 4, 2022 about a stolen vehicle parked in the driveway of a home in Stone Mountain, according to the GBI, which is the lead agency in all shootings by police officers. Vance knocked on the front door, which swung open.
Both officers then entered and began clearing the residence. Prosecutors allege Mathis went to a second-floor bedroom, opened the door and encountered Salmon sitting in bed in the dark.
“In a matter of seconds, Officer Mathis opened fire, shooting and killing Mr. Salmon,” Boston said in a news conference announcing the first indictment.
A federal lawsuit filed by Salmon’s family in September claims Mathis fired six rounds inside the bedroom, striking Salmon four times. DeKalb’s Internal Review Board found Mathis’ use of force was not justified, and the board ruled in a 3-2 vote that the officers’ warrantless entry violated DeKalb police policy, according to the complaint. The lawsuit remains pending.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson will continue to preside over the criminal case. Back in April, Johnson admonished the DA’s office for waiting months before asking for the charges to be dropped, saying they knew about issues with the indictment but waited until the last minute to do something about it.
Mathis’ attorney, Chuck Boring, said at the time, the victim’s family and the two defendants deserved finality, and dropping the charges was just the state “trying to save face” for something that was their fault.
On Tuesday, Boring said he was not aware of the new indictment against Mathis until an AJC reporter reached out asking for comment following a news release from the DA’s office.
He said he wouldn’t comment until he had a chance to review the new indictment, but said his client would seek to dismiss it again.
Mathis resigned while under investigation in May 2023, while Vance was terminated in March 2024.
Boston said the GBI was called to investigate the shooting and turned in their findings to the DeKalb DA’s office in March 2023. Her office also investigated.
An initial statement from the GBI after the incident said Salmon was reaching for a gun when he was shot. A GBI update the month after said Salmon threw an object and was reaching for something; later, agents recovered the handgun.
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