Ryan Lisabeth has received “threats on his life” and has been placed in solitary confinement for his protection in the Fulton County Jail since he was charged with driving under the influence of heroin and smashing his car into three boys in Northwest Atlanta last month, allegedly killing one, his attorney said in a court hearing Monday.
Ashleigh Merchant, Lisabeth's attorney, said the threats came after Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard told the news media that his office was investigating whether Lisabeth should face a more severe charge. At issue, Howard told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month, is whether Lisabeth intentionally drove up on the sidewalk where the three boys were standing near Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and Mayson Turner Road.
“Since that happened he has had a number of threats on his life,” Merchant told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram Millender. “He has actually had to be moved into protective custody to the point where he… has absolutely no human interaction whatsoever.”
Merchant asked the judge for Lisabeth to be released on bond into a treatment facility, perhaps in Alpharetta, saying it was not safe for him in the Fulton jail.
“Not just the inmates but the guards as well,” she said, referring to unspecified “comments” that have been directed toward Lisabeth since Howard spoke to the news media. “He has been placed in solitary for his own protection because they heard the threats. They have determined that there is an issue there.”
A spokeswoman for the Fulton jail did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Millender denied bond for Lisabeth but scheduled a May 10 court hearing to determine if he should be detained somewhere other than the Fulton jail.
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