SNELLVILLE, Ga. — 13WMAZ has reported eight deaths in Central Georgia prisons over the past two months.
One of them was 27-year-old Zachary Olivar.
His family acknowledges his crimes, but says there's more to his life than his criminal sentence and the way he died.
Zachary's family says they believe there's a lack of mental health care in prison, and if addressed, could have saved his life and others.
Zachary's family moved to Georgia from Miami when he was a toddler. After graduating high school in 2015, Zachary's parents said he got his associate's degree and finished his bachelor's degree in exercise science.
Fernando Olivar said "the incident happened" when his son started preparing for chiropractor school.
During a traffic stop in 2021, Zachary pulled out a gun and shot Jones County Deputy John Kile. Kile's bulletproof vest saved his life.
Zachary's parents said that was their son's third mental health episode ever.
They said mental health issues in their family were hereditary, and Zachary's older brother showed signs before he had his first episode.
Before the 2021 encounter, they said Zachary had episodes earlier in 2021 and in 2020. Doctors diagnosed him with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and they called 911 and the Georgia Crisis Center for help on multiple occasions.
"We were begging them, 'Please, please 1013 him, put him in someplace safe,'" Fernando said.
A 1013 in Georgia initiates an involuntary mental health evaluation of a mentally ill person who presents a risk of harming themselves or people around them.
"They told me they wouldn't take him unless I filed criminal charges against him," Zachary's mom, Regina Olivar, said. "I said. "My son's not a criminal, my son needs to be taken to the hospital, he's ill and doesn't see that he's ill,' but they said no, they told Zachary he had to leave the house."
Regina said when her son acted manic during his mental health episodes, oftentimes he'd leave the home.
On the night he shot Deputy Kile, aunt Patricia Olivar Atkins said Zachary was on his way to see her for help in Eatonton.
"But, I told him, 'I've just landed in Denver airport and I'm not home, I'm so sorry,'" Atkins said.
His family believes he got lost in Central Georgia on his way down to see another relative in Florida when the shooting happened.
In the bodycam video, you can hear Zachary say, "This is my home," before pulling the gun and shooting Kile.
Zachary drove away from Kile after shooting him, but with the help of deputies, and spikes in the road stopping him, Zachary was arrested.
His family said his mental health had declined so much that he didn't remember the shooting until after he was booked into the jail and various institutions around the state.
"In any other situation," Fernando said, "The cops would have put 50 bullets through him, but they did not."
In 2022, a judge sentenced Zachary to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault on a peace officer.
While in jail with mental health issues, Zachary's family said they believe he started self-medicating.
The deputy coroner told us he was found dead on his cell floor of the Johnson State Prison on July 16.
His cellmate admitted they were "smoking strips" - rolled up paper sprayed with roach spray - to get high.
"He can't make it through 20 years of jail," Regina said. "I must stand in my faith and believe he is with God, and he is no longer suffering."
Fernando said his family's greatest demand at this time is to reform the prison system.
"If we can do what we can to try and change this prison system, so that the drugs are removed, the animosity between jailer and jailee is improved," Fernando said, "If we can do something to treat people humanely, it would improve the situation."
MORE THAN A NUMBER
More Than A Number is a Poynter-Stand Together award-winning project by Justin Baxley designed to help families of loved ones impacted by tragedy and trauma interact with journalists in a less intrusive way. Families are able to fill out a form about their family and also receive an in-depth guide on the next steps.
More Than A Number officially launched in August with a streaming special available on 13WMAZ+ for on-demand streaming. For any questions or concerns about More Than A Number, contact us here at the following email: MoreThanANumber@13wmaz.com