A DeKalb County judge said a murder charge against an alleged drug dealer should be dismissed, but prosecutors still plan to move forward with the case.
Antoin Thornton, 28, was arrested last May and charged with felony murder after allegedly selling heroin laced with fentanyl to 22-year-old Alexander Whitehead, who fatally overdosed at a Dunwoody apartment complex. The case — where an alleged street-level dealer is accused of murder in the death of someone who later overdosed — is believed to be the first of its kind for DeKalb.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson last week ordered that two charges against Thornton, including felony murder, be dismissed because prosecutors did not specify in their indictment when the alleged crimes occurred. Instead, they provided a range of dates.
But the judge’s ruling does not mean the case is over. Prosecutors are allowed to file a revised indictment against Thornton, and they plan to do so, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said Tuesday.
“We fully intend to continue with the prosecution of this case,” Boston said in a statement. “We respect the judge’s ruling and will re-indict the case to comport with the order of the court.”
Officials have not said when the new indictment will be filed. Thornton is set to remain in custody, where he has been since his arrest on May 9.
But the hiccup highlights the unique nature of his case and the challenges prosecutors across the state may encounter if similar cases arise.
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Experts have said there is legal standing in Georgia to bring murder charges against an alleged dealer, but prosecutors would have to show that the drugs dealt by the defendant were the actual drugs that caused the victim’s death. A successful prosecution could send a powerful message about the type of charges prosecutors can bring forward as a way of combating the deadly opioid crisis, experts said.
Johnson quashed the two charges because the district attorney’s office only provided a range of dates that the alleged felony murder occurred: between March 15 and 18. Prosecutors said the alleged sale happened on the 15th, and Whitehead died on the 18th, according to Johnson’s ruling. The judge said they would need to narrow the dates for the re-indictment.
“We don’t believe that the facts support the charge of felony murder in this case,” Thornton’s attorney Noah Pines said in a statement after Johnson’s ruling. “Felony murder requires that a death occur during the commission of a felony. Even if the state could prove that Mr. Thornton sold drugs to Mr. Whitehead, the state cannot prove that Mr. Whitehead’s death occurred during the commission of that felony. In fact, it didn’t.”
Johnson’s ruling did not involve four other offences Thornton was indicted on: two additional counts of drug charges, possession of marijuana less than one ounce and tampering with evidence.
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