He said he didn’t want to go back to jail, and 22-year-old Tyquan Devoun Richardson meant it.
He’d just gotten out of the Fulton County jail four days earlier and was free on bond. But when he allegedly tried to stash a loaded gun outside a court building Tuesday morning, Richardson was rearrested and placed in handcuffs again.
No one expected what police say Richardson did next.
The Atlanta man ran head-first into a third-floor window, shattering the glass as he dove 40 feet to concrete below on Walton Street, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
At 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, Richardson was able to break through the glass as deputies in the building and onlookers at street level watched in horror. He later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Richardson’s father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution his son wasn’t suicidal, and he doesn’t believe what he’s been told.
“No, not at all,” Melvin Richardson said from his North Carolina home.
“I don’t have all the answers,” he said. “But I know that (suicide) is not the answer.”
With deputies beside him, Tyquan Richardson stood up and ran to the window, according to investigators. Atlanta police declined to release the 911 calls Wednesday due to the ongoing investigation.
Reports released Wednesday showed Richardson had previously been arrested at least three times during the past two years in Atlanta. He was also previously arrested in Michigan and North Carolina, records showed.
In May 2013, Richardson was booked into the Fulton County jail on aggravated assault and aggravated battery charges, records showed. He spent about six weeks in jail and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless conduct, court records showed.
Richardson’s more recent arrests were drug related, according to Atlanta police.
In March 2014, Richardson was arrested after selling two bags containing a little more than one gram of marijuana to an undercover officer for $8, an Atlanta police report states. Richardson, then of Charlotte, N.C., was arrested on a misdemeanor drug charge and booked into the city jail, according to police.
Most recently, Richardson was arrested on Sept. 17 on marijuana and cocaine charges, records showed.
On Sept. 16, officers executed a search warrant at a home on Gordon Terrace in southwest Atlanta, a police report states. Richardson and another suspect tried to run, but were unable to escape.
“Inside the living room, detectives recovered 15 hits of crack cocaine and a small amount of marijuana and baggies from the table,” the report states. “On the floor, detectives found an ID belonging to Tyquan Richardson.”
Richardson was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. After 15 days in the Fulton jail, Richardson was released Friday on $8,000 signature bond.
Tuesday morning, Richardson was in a downtown Atlanta court building for pretrial intervention proceedings when a janitor found a loaded .25-caliber handgun outside the building.
The gun was “concealed in documents which contained the name” of the soon-to-be jumper, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said. He was confronted shortly after the 10:30 a.m. discovery, and reportedly admitted to having stashed the weapon.
Having the gun violated terms of Richardson’s bond, and he was handcuffed, Flanagan said. And after stating he did not want to return to jail, Richardson stood up and ran to the window.
The incident remained under investigation Wednesday.
About the Author
