Security concerns arose at the DeKalb County courthouse recently when a suspect escaped confinement after a judge ordered his arrest.
Channel 2 Action News reported that suspect Melvin Summers, who was facing fraud charges, fled from the seventh-floor courtroom as he was being handcuffed. Summers then got into the adjoining administration building, down to the first floor and out of the complex altogether — despite a deputy twice using a Taser on Summers.
The suspect was found a day later, but questions remain.
Kyle Jones, who helped investigate the Brian Nichols murder incident in Fulton County in 2005, told Channel 2 that several systems failed.
“God forbid this was an active shooter. We can only imagine how this situation would have turned out,” Jones said.
The DeKalb sheriff said his office didn’t secure the courthouse because Summers was wanted for a nonviolent offense.
