Law enforcement involved in a fatal standoff at a Troup County home that went up in flames in 2021 will not be prosecuted, officials announced Thursday.
Brian Jessee, 39, was barricaded inside a LaGrange residence along Sunny Point Circle for about 17 hours before he was found dead Nov. 17, 2021. During those long hours, there was an exchange of gunfire with officers and an eventual fire that resulted in a total loss of the home, Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford said in a statement.
The incident was investigated by the GBI, which handed all their findings to the district attorney’s office in May.
“The District Attorney’s Office has determined that the state would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any officer committed a crime,” Cranford said.
The nearly 20-hour standoff began after LaGrange police went to the Sunny Point Circle residence to arrest Jessee on charges of terroristic threats, felony obstruction and second-degree cruelty to children related to an incident on Nov. 15, 2021. According to Cranford, Jessee continued to show “aggressive behavior, (make) verbal threats and reference to possessing firearms and explosives,” leading to the evacuation of the surrounding area.
On Nov. 16, after warrants had been obtained, police observed Jessee walking near his home with a rifle, then witnessed him firing into the air, Cranford said. Officials stated he refused to drop the weapon and then barricaded himself inside the home.
Several police departments, SWAT teams and the GBI Bomb Disposal Unit responded to the area and the home was eventually breached late that evening.
“The two armored vehicles breached the house in different areas and received well over 100 rounds of gunfire from Jessee,” Cranford said, adding that officers fired into the home at one point during the standoff.
On Nov. 17, a robot was sent into the home to locate Jessee. Cranford said it was unsuccessful, but the robot captured images of firearms, ammunition, bullet holes and a container that appeared to be an explosive.
Officials eventually determined that SWAT team members should enter the home to find Jessee and deployed two smoke grenades into the residence, Cranford said. Before law enforcement could enter the home, a fire broke out from where the smoke grenades had been thrown. The house was considered a total loss about an hour after the blaze began.
Jessee’s body was located inside the home later that day. No officers were injured.
An autopsy revealed that Jessee died from “thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion,” according to the medical examiner’s report. Cranford said that there was no indication that Jessee had been shot. Jessee’s blood revealed the presence of THC, Trazodone, Cyclobenzaprine and a blood alcohol concentration of .047, Cranford added.
Cranford said his office determined that “all of the law enforcement officers at the scene of the standoff at Jessee’s residence were authorized under Georgia law to use deadly force to apprehend Jessee and to prevent the death of and great bodily injury to themselves and others, and to prevent Jessee’s further commission of forcible felonies.”
Officials said they concluded that the fire was caused by the smoke grenades and the blaze led to Jessee’s death, but that the use of the grenades was authorized in order to try to arrest Jessee.
“Consequently, the District Attorney’s Office declines to present this matter to a civil or criminal grand jury and considers this matter closed,” Cranford said.
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