SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — Editor's Note: Video in this story is from closing arguments.
The murder trial of three former Washington County deputies accused of Tasing a man has ended in a mistrial Tuesday.
Around 4:15 p.m., Judge H. Gibb Flanders asked the jury three questions relating to its deliberation. The jury determined they were hopelessly deadlocked and couldn't unanimously agree on any count.
The defense motioned to request a mistrial on behalf of Michael Howell, and the state did not object.
The jury was dismissed from service. Their notes will be destroyed.
As for the three deputies, the mistrial does NOT mean the charges are disposed, so they can be retried. Their bond remains in effect.
This is a developing story.
CASE BACKGROUND
July 7, 2017, around 7 p.m.
Then-Washington County Sheriff Thomas Smith said deputies responded to a call that a man knocked on a door and was acting strangely while walking along Deepstep Road.
Within 30 minutes of the call, 58-year-old Martin died after being tased.
By December, the three deputies -- Michael Howell, Henry Copeland, and Rhett Scott – were indicted by a grand jury, sparking a separate legal battle.
The 2017 indictment was thrown out due to a procedural problem with the grand jury proceedings.
They were re-indicted, and then in Nov. 2019, Judge H. Gibb Flanders threw out the charges against the three ex-deputies after a motion because they believed they were under attack and needed to defend themselves.
Flanders’ order provided a clearer picture on what happened that July night:
- A Washington County man -- identified in Flanders' order as "Mr. Harris" -- told authorities that the man who walked up his driveway was "filthy," wearing low-riding cutoffs and "a piece of a shirt."
- He didn't know the stranger, who was carrying a Coke can and wanted to fill it with water from an outside spigot. The heat index that day was over 100 degrees.
- Harris says he pulled his riding mower between the man and his house and told him to get off his property.
- Martin did leave, Flanders wrote, "without any confrontation."
- But as he walked away, Mr. Harris decided to call Washington County 911.
- "I got a guy walking up and down the road here just walking in my yard," Harris said, "and I don't know whether he's crazy, drunk or what, but he's walking from back towards Deepstep... Think you need to check him out."
- The judge notes that Harris never told 911 why the man came onto his property -- to get a drink of water.
Flanders' order doesn't explain what Martin was doing on Deepstep Road that afternoon. His family later told investigators that he had a long history of mental illness and treatment.
The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments in Aug. 2020 on whether murder charges should be re-instated against three former deputies.
They said Flanders’ ruling was incorrect and told him to take another look at the case. By Dec. 2020, the immunity ruling was reversed clearing a path for the deputies to stand trial.
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