GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Snellville woman says the now-former Doraville police officer charged in connection with the death of 16-year-old Susana Morales—whose remains were found in Dacula last week—had been stalking her, before and after Morales disappeared in July of last year.
Elasha Bates said Wednesday that when she saw news reports on Monday that Miles Bryant had been arrested and charged in the Morales case, she was stunned, saying to herself and her mother, “It could have been me.”
Bates said she now believes Bryant is the man who started stalking her in March, 2022, wearing a hoodie, and concealing his identity—even breaking through her door when she wasn’t home—and trying to get inside her apartment several other times, as seen on a neighbor’s doorbell camera videos.
“I mean, when I saw him on camera and saw what he was capable of doing, trying to break in, it had me very scared for my life,” Bates said.
A screen grab from one of the videos in October shows the man’s face—and that’s when Bates said she identified him as Miles Bryant, a childhood friend who had recently tried to re-connect with her. But she had stopped returning his texts and calls.
“I felt like, at first, when he told me that he was trying to talk to me—about getting back with his ex—I thought that was all it was until he started reaching out more. And then it started being kind of weird. I was very scared. So I just stopped responding. And then by the time my neighbor showed me the footage of him at my door, I was just shaking.... So it’s just very scary,” Bates recalled.
She said she grew increasingly frightened when she learned later that Bryant was a Doraville Police officer. She reported Bryant both to Doraville Police and to Gwinnett County Police.
Doraville Police told 11Alive Wednesday that there is no proof it was Bryant who was committing any crimes against Bates. Nevertheless, supervisors told Bryant about the stalking complaint and after that “the behavior stopped.”
“Our Command Team addressed the complaint with Mr. Bryant and the behavior stopped,” a spokesperson for the City of Doraville wrote to 11Alive in an email. “While speaking with the complainant, our officers informed her that any criminal charges would have to be pursued by Gwinnett County. It was our understanding that she filed a report with the county. However, Doraville PD was not informed of any further action from Gwinnett. Mr. Bryant did remain on active duty following the complaint, as it had been addressed internally. And again, Gwinnett County did not inform Doraville PD of any further action on the matter.”
11Alive is working to find out what Gwinnett County police did with her complaint.
“I would have been the first victim that they knew about had he got in and I was home,” Bates said. “He did get to Susana and then he came back for me in December.”
Bates said she bought a gun and installed her own security cameras.
“I feel like had they investigated my case more, Susana could have been here and I do want him to be punished for his actions. He used a badge for power. And I want them to throw away the key. I want him to be locked up for the rest of his life, with no parole,” she said.
Bates said whatever happens with her complaints against Bryant—who has been charged, so far, with concealing the death of Susana Morales by hiding her body in some woods in Dacula—she hopes prosecutors call her to testify against him, if and when he goes to trial in connection with her death.