MACON, Ga. — Back in December of 2020, Macon man Ronnie Chatfield was charged with helping rob a store on Anthony Road.
Last week, a Bibb County jury acquitted Chatfield on all charges.
13WMAZ's Raime Cohen spoke to Chatfield Friday, and he says the charge is still affecting his life.
"Everybody got a past. Just because your past is rough that don't give it the opportunity to define your future," Chatfield said.
Bibb County court records confirm that the jury found Ronnie Chatfield not guilty on both charges. But Chatfield says he's still suffering the consequences.
During the pandemic he spent more than 7 months in jail.
"People had to sleep on the tables we eat off. People had to sleep on the stairway because they didn't want to try to catch the Coronavirus, and I was one of them," he said.
Chatfield says for the first three weeks in jail, he had no sleeping mat.
"My cell mates they walk around with COVID-19. Then I'm in jail with no bond and I'm like, 'why am I even here?'" Chatfield said.
After getting out of jail, he now says he gives plasma and pawns his jewelry just to make ends meet. Currently, he lives with his sister.
"In my past I had went to prison and paid my debt to society, and it's like my past still haunting me for what I did when I was younger," he said.
Since Macon is such a small town, the case has also kept him from finding work.
"It's hard for me to get a job because people I went to school with working in these establishments. Stop judging people off the way the look, off the way they dress and the way they carry themselves because I've been screaming my innocence for the last three years and nobody heard my voice until I went on trial." Chatfield said.
According to the Sheriff's Office, two other people charged in the case pleaded guilty.
"I'm just thanking God that he cleared my name. He shined some light on the situation. So, I can move away and have my own space. Buy a house hopefully and live my life comfortably," he said.
The DA's office says they still believe Chatfield was the getaway driver. But, they say jurors apparently wanted to see video showing his car parked outside the store and there was none.
In a statement, the Bibb County Sheriff's office says they had enough probable cause to arrest Chatfield, and grand jurors felt there was enough probable cause to indict him.
They say Chatfield's lawyers created enough reasonable doubt to convince the trial jury to acquit him.