December 20, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Tyrique Dakwan Harris, 22, formerly of Brunswick, Georgia, was found guilty by a Glynn County jury of two counts of Armed Robbery, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Due to the lack of cooperation of one of the victims, Harris was acquitted of one count of Armed Robbery and one count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. On the day after he was convicted, Superior Court Judge Roger B. Lane sentenced Harris to imprisonment for life, plus an additional fifteen years.

The evidence at trial showed that Tyrique Harris committed a series of armed robberies on October 28, 2023. While the first victim was in his vehicle at Coastal Club Apartments, Harris approached him, threatened him, produced an assault-style rifle, and demanded his wallet and phone. Harris then ordered the victim to get out of his vehicle and attempted to move him to an isolated location. While Harris was trying to move the victim, Harris was slightly distracted, and the victim was able to get away.

A short while later, Harris approached a second victim, who was in a vehicle at the Palm Club Apartments. Producing the same assault-style rifle, Harris demanded the victim’s wallet and personal firearm before he fled the scene.

Through the diligent work of the Glynn County Police Department, the College of Coastal Georgia Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, law enforcement was able to quickly identify Tyrique Harris as the gunman. Harris, whose face is adorned with multiple, distinct tattoos, was readily identified by the victims in a police line-up and again at trial when they pointed him out to jurors.

With the assistance of the United States Marshals Service, Harris was apprehended in Tallulah, Louisiana after fleeing the State of Georgia.

During questioning by GBI Special Agent Hunter Thompson, Harris brazenly made comments about how armed robberies are not a big deal, that they happen all the time, and they should be considered normal in 2024.  He also claimed that he was only being investigated because law enforcement had nothing better to do.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Bryan M. Roy, who prosecuted the case, stated that “Today is a great day for justice. Tyrique Harris’s days of victimizing the public are over. Let this serve as a warning: the District Attorney’s Office will not tolerate violent criminals terrorizing the citizens of this community. Through the diligent work of law enforcement and the bravery of the victims who came forward, our community is now a safer place because Harris is behind bars where he belongs.”

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

December 20, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on December 12, 2024, Khyree Jamal Turner, 32, of Brunswick, Georgia was tried and convicted of three counts of Aggravated Assault, one count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The evidence presented at trial showed that on Mother’s Day in 2023, Turner went to the home of the victims and fired a gun at three individuals. Taja Brown, of Brunswick, Georgia, was struck in the leg by one of the bullets that Turner fired. In an act of self-defense, a second victim shot back.

During the investigation, the Brunswick Police Department recovered a .380 shell casing from the crime scene that the GBI Crime Lab later determined had been fired from a Glock .380 handgun that was recovered from Turner’s bedroom. When attempting to serve the arrest warrant for the shooting, law enforcement arrested Turner while he was trying to escape through a rear window of his home

On Thursday, December 19, 2024, Superior Court Judge Roger B. Lane sentenced Turner to serve 55 years in prison.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Bryan M. Roy, who prosecuted the case, commented that “Mother’s Day should be a day of love and joy celebrating the women in our community.  Instead, Turner tried to resolve a petty dispute through an act of violence.  These senseless acts of violence will not be tolerated. The District Attorney’s Office will prosecute gun violence to the fullest extent of the law.”

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

October 8, 2024

The Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office today announced the guilty plea of Jalen L. Cook for four counts of Aggravated Assault (Counts 1-4) and one count of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony (Count 5). Cook pled guilty in Glynn County Superior Court and was sentenced to 20 years to serve 18 years in the Department of Corrections for Count 1, 20 years to serve 18 for Counts 2-4 to be served concurrent to Count 1, and 5 years probated consecutive to Count 1 for Count 5 by Judge Stephen Scarlett. The prosecution team of Deputy Chief Whitney J. Gregory and Assistant District Attorney Ada Zeno took the plea before the Court.

On December 26, 2023, the day after Christmas, a young family of four were driving down Highway US-17 to Jekyll Island to celebrate Christmas with extended family. The husband-father was driving. The wife-mother was in the front passenger seat. In the back in car seats were their three-year-old and ten-month-old sons. As they approached an intersection near the ports at Joe Frank Harris Blvd by the Sidney Lanier Bridge, with a green light, two cars pulled out turning right without stopping or yielding (colloquially, a California roll). The Defendant was driving the second car to pull out without the right-of-way. The husband-father was forced to quickly maneuver the car to safety, and he did what any normal person would do and honked his horn. This apparently upset the Defendant, because the Defendant then merged back into the lane the victims were now in and rode on their back bumper in an aggressive manner. The Defendant then quickly zoomed over to the passenger-side of the victims’ vehicle and fired a 9mm into the window. The wife-mother was leaned forward looking in the mirror trying to fix her mascara. The bullet went through her chin, inches from killing her, and ricocheted off the husband-father’s chest. The Defendant fled the scene. Through their investigation using objective surveillance video, car registration records, and employee records, Glynn County detectives identified the Defendant as the shooter.

The trial was to commence on Monday, September 30. Instead, the Defendant decided to take an open-ended plea after having previously rejected a plea offer of a fixed term of years. The State presented photographic evidence and victim impact through live testimony. Notably, the wife-mother noted that her toddler frequently asks, “Is the bandit going to get us this time?”

Feeling “disrespected” on the road over an innocuous honk in reaction to a situation he caused is not justification for such gun violence. If the victim-mother was leaning just an inch forward, or if the speed of one of the cars was just slightly faster or slower, we could have been here for a murder.

The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank Glynn County Police Department, especially Det. Paxton Edgy for his tremendous work on this case.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

August 30, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, Lanis Brown, 32, of Jesup, GA, was found guilty by a Wayne County jury of Voluntary Manslaughter and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony for the shooting death of Zakkary Johnson, 24, also of Jesup. After the conviction, Superior Court Judge Anthony L. Harrison sentenced Brown to serve fifteen years in prison, to be followed by 10 years on probation.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Brown had been on a three-day methamphetamine binge when on February 3, 2023, he traveled to a shed that is located on Community Circle in Jesup. While at the shed, Brown used more methamphetamine with a female and two other people. When Zakkary Johnson arrived later, Brown and Johnson began arguing and then engaged in a physical altercation with one another. After separating from the physical altercation, Johnson continued to argue with Brown. Brown then pulled out a handgun and shot Johnson, fatally wounding him in the chest. After shooting Johnson, Brown fled the scene and was arrested four days later. When Brown was interviewed by law enforcement, he admitted to shooting Johnson, but claimed he had acted in self-defense. The jury only took three hours to return their guilty verdicts.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Presley and Assistant District Attorney A.J. Smart. The lead investigator was Investigator Bruce Williams of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

August 30, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Thursday, August 29, 2024, Jason Palmer, 47, of Littleton, Massachusetts, was found guilty by a Camden County jury of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Concealing the Death of Another in the 2022 stabbing death of his former fiancé, Jessica Goodrich, 45, of Worcester, Massachusetts. After the jury found Palmer guilty, Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley sentenced Palmer to serve the rest of his natural life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus a consecutive sentence of 10 years to serve in prison.

The evidence presented at trial showed that in September 2022, Palmer, a long-distance commercial truck driver, convinced Goodrich, his former fiancé, to join him on a month-long trucking assignment along the east coast. The two traveled from Worcester, Massachusetts to central Florida. They then traveled from Wildwood, Florida to the Chevron truck stop at Exit 14 off Interstate 95 in Camden County. While at that location, Palmer fatally stabbed Goodrich, concealed her body in the wood line next to the truck stop, and stripped her of any items that would reveal her identity.

Goodrich’s body was discovered on the afternoon of October 8, 2022, by a man walking his dog in the woods. Investigators with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office were able to discover the identity of Goodrich through her fingerprints. Palmer soon became the prime suspect based on overwhelming circumstantial evidence and his history of abusing Goodrich, which included threats to rape and kill her in 2020. The evidence at trial included Palmer telling Goodrich’s son that Goodrich had left him in Wildwood, Florida and photographs that Goodrich had sent to her son, which showed bruising to her face and neck that resulted from Palmer choking her. On October 1, Goodrich told her son she was going to look up flights and Ubers because she couldn’t be with Palmer, and she wasn’t going to end up dead in his truck. Goodrich’s son sent a text message to Goodrich on October 3, but never received a response. The last communication anyone had with Goodrich was on October 5. GPS evidence for Palmer’s truck showed he was in Woodbine for more than 12 hours preceding the discovery of Goodrich’s body. Evidence of Palmer’s cell phone use also confirmed his presence in Woodbine.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Hal Moroz and Assistant District Attorney Cameron Atwood. The lead investigator was former Camden County Sheriff’s Office Captain and current St. Marys Police Chief, James Galloway. The primary investigators who traveled to Massachusetts and obtained the evidence that was introduced at trial were Lt. Erica Rafferty, now with the St. Marys Police Department, and Lt. Nathan Daniel of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

September 30, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, a Jeff Davis County jury found Daimon Smith, 20, and Jermon Rountree, 19, of Hazlehurst, Georgia, guilty of Felony Murder, two counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and five counts of Violation of Street Gang and Terrorism Prevention Act. The jury acquitted both defendants of one count of Violation of Street Gang and Terrorism Prevention Act.

The evidence presented at trial showed that the defendants were associated with a criminal street gang in Hazlehurst that refers to itself as Money Over Banging (MOB) and that MOB is a hybrid street gang that is mostly composed of Rollin’ 60’s Crips but has some members who are either Gangster Disciples or Bloods. On October 14, 2022, Malik McRae, 18, was at the residence of a friend with a group of other teenagers when Daimon Smith, Jermon Rountree, and other members of the street gang came to confront McRae’s friend about a social media post about one of their gang members that he had reposted on Snapchat.  After walking into the yard of the residence, Daimon Smith began arguing with McRae’s friend and another teen aged guest and demanded that they come into the street to fight. When Smith and the other gang members refused to leave, an occupant of the residence retrieved a gun from inside the house and began firing into the air. Having obtained a handgun from one of his fellow gang members, Smith then fired toward several teenagers who were running back to the residence. As he was running, McRae was shot and killed. Another teenager who was running with McRae was also shot.

According to District Attorney Keith Higgins, who prosecuted the case for the State, “Violent criminal street gangs are the greatest threat to the safety of everyone who lives, works, and raises a family in our community.  The District Attorney’s Office is committed to do everything we can to combat these gangs and hold their members fully responsible for the crimes they commit.”

Sentencing will be held on a future date that has not yet been determined. Daimon Smith and Jermon Rountree face a possible maximum punishment of up to life imprisonment without parole, plus an additional 90 years in prison.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

August 26, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Friday, August 23, 2024, Troy Rogers III, of Brunswick, GA, was found guilty by a Glynn County jury of one count of Rape, two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, and one count of Child Molestation. The jury rendered its guilty verdicts after deliberating for only one hour. After the verdicts were returned, Superior Court Judge Roger Lane sentenced Rogers to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 19 years in prison.

The evidence presented at trial showed that on March 25, 2023, the 14 year old female victim was in her apartment making lunch when Rogers knocked on the door and told her that her stepfather owed him twenty dollars. When the victim said her parents weren’t home and she didn’t have any money to give him, Rogers pushed his way into the residence and picked up a bat. Over the next several hours, Rogers raped the victim and orally sodomized her by forcibly making her perform oral sodomy on him and performing oral sodomy on her. Rogers’ DNA was found inside the victim’s vagina.

The victim bravely confronted Rogers at trial and emotionally testified as she clutched onto a stuffed animal. In his testimony, Rogers admitted to the criminal acts, but claimed he did not use “force,” that he “had fun with her,” that he looks for girls “like that,” and that he was mad because she “told on him.” The victim continues to undergo mental health treatment as she seeks to recover from the trauma she suffered.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Whitney J. Gregory and Assistant District Attorney Ada Zeno. The lead investigator was Det. Carla Futch with the Brunswick Police Department.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

July 9, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that Ricky Ricardo Easterling, 52, of Brunswick, GA, entered a negotiated guilty plea in Glynn County Superior Court on July 1, 2024, to Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder and two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

The facts of the case show that this homicide occurred May 20, 2023, around 0100 am near Nazzaro’s restaurant at Retreat Village on St. Simons Island. Glynn County Police Department (GCPD) officers responded following reports of gunshots and one individual having been shot. Upon arrival, an officer observed a vehicle on the east side around the back of Nazzaro’s. The victim, Dawn Newbauer, 53, of Brunswick, was found deceased. She was laying on her back across the trunk and rear windshield of her vehicle and had sustained two gunshot wounds to her head. Video footage from an adjacent business captured a suspect vehicle, a Tan Ford Sport Trac leave through the back alley roughly 45 seconds after the shots were fired. That same vehicle was captured going the wrong way in the traffic circle leaving the island on dash camera footage of a responding officer as well. The suspect vehicle was pulled over a short time later by Brunswick Police for a traffic violation with the driver and sole occupant being the defendant, Ricky Ricardo Easterling. The vehicle was towed, and the defendant cited and released. Unbeknownst at the time, this was the same vehicle and the same suspect involved in the homicide.

After a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) was sent out for the suspect vehicle, GCPD Investigators were contacted by Brunswick Police and learned that the same vehicle had been stopped by Brunswick Police earlier and tracked the vehicle to the Concord Suites where it had been towed. Investigators reviewed footage from the Concorde Suites and observed that the defendant walked into his room carrying 2 bags which he got from his truck before it was towed. A few minutes later the defendant walks out of the hotel room and puts the bags in his girlfriend’s vehicle’s trunk. Search warrants were obtained, and the vehicle was searched. The bag placed in the trunk by the defendant contained two firearms, a shotgun and a handgun.

The investigation revealed that the defendant and victim had been previously involved in an intimate relationship with each other. The defendant participated in a custodial interview with GCPD. The defendant’s statement matched the timeline and placed him at the scene, but he denied any involvement in the murder. The defendant stated that he only spoke to the victim in the parking lot while he was in his vehicle; however, the defendant’s fingerprints were found inside the victim’s vehicle.

Additionally, the handgun collected from the defendant’s girlfriend’s vehicle, which the defendant had placed there, was confirmed by the GBI as the same firearm that was used to kill Dawn Newbauer, as the shell casings collected at the scene were all a match to that handgun.

On July 01, 2024, Ricky Ricardo Easterling pled guilty in Glynn County Superior Court before the Honorable Chief Judge Stephen G. Scarlett, Sr. to Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder and two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and received a sentence of Life with the possibility of parole as part of a negotiated plea resolution.

This case was prosecuted for the State by Assistant District Attorney Leland McElveen. The homicide investigation was led by GCPD Detective Anthony Clark. Detective Clark and the Glynn County Police Department should be commended for doing a phenomenal job investigating this case which ultimately lead to its successful prosecution.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

June 25, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Lavorgia L. Warren, 43, of Brunswick, GA, was found guilty by a Glynn County jury of one count of Child Molestation and two counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree.

The evidence presented at trial showed that between April and September of 2020, Warren, who was 39 years old at the time, would often stay at the home of the two male victims’ mother, at an apartment complex in Brunswick. The two boys were 11 years old and 6 years old at the time. When the boys’ mother was not at home, Warren would maliciously beat the boys with a 5-foot-long bamboo stick, and at night he would slip into the boys’ bedroom and fondle the genitals of the elder boy.

The two boys stayed with their mother on the weekends and during the week lived with their grandmother to attend school. After the boys started having nightmares at the grandmother’s home following the start of the abuse, and she saw the injuries on their bodies, she immediately notified the police. The evidence presented at trial included the bamboo stick, photos and diagrams of the injuries, forensic interviews of the children, nightmare videos and the brave testimony of the two boys.

The case was prosecuted for the State by Assistant District Attorney Melanie Fenley and Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Whitney Gregory. DC Gregory stated, “These two boys suffered at the hands of a man their mother trusted. If not for their grandmother, who supported her grandsons in their trauma, who knows how long they may have been made to suffer. The DA’s Office would like to thank the law enforcement professionals who worked this case, along with Dontrell Norman, the former forensic interviewer, and Bethany Browning, the former Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner who testified for the State.”

Warren was sentenced on Friday, June 28, 2024, before the Honorable Judge Stephen D. Kelley to 20 years on each count to run concurrently.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.

May 30, 2024

District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Michael Purnell, 59, of Brunswick, GA, was found guilty of Aggravated Battery. The Glynn County jury deliberated and returned their guilty verdict in under 30 minutes.

The evidence presented at trial showed that on June 22, 2023, the victim, William Glass, was at the Citgo Gas Station on Norwich Street Extension getting money out of the ATM inside the gas station. While the victim was getting money out of the ATM, the defendant walked into the store, came up from behind the victim, and punched the victim in the side of his face/head which caused the victim to be knocked unconscious and fall to the floor. When the victim fell, his head struck the gas station floor.

The defendant then crouched over the victim as if to say something, then started to walk away, and then came back once more towards the unconscious victim and then spit on him. This was captured by surveillance video inside the gas station. The defendant hit the victim so hard you could hear the impact on the video which the jurors were able to see and hear. The victim, unaware of what happened, eventually regained consciousness, and then drove home, which he testified at trial he did not remember. When he arrived home, his family members called 911 as he was bleeding profusely from his head. Law enforcement and EMS personnel arrived to find the victim covered in blood. There was blood all down the side of the truck where the victim had leaned to hold himself up and blood all inside the victim’s garage.

The victim suffered a broken jaw, a large laceration to his forehead and a large laceration to the back of his head. The victim was transported to the ER by ambulance and then transported to Jacksonville due to the severity of his injuries. The victim suffered a level four concussion, had two teeth knocked out, had to have a metal implant inserted in his jaw due to a piece of his jawbone being broken off, six metal screws inserted in his mouth in which his jaw was wired shut for two months, 10-14 stitches in his head for the laceration over his eye, and 7-8 staples for the laceration to the back of his head.

The defendant was positively identified at trial as the offender by two witnesses.

The case was prosecuted for the State by Assistant District Attorney Leland McElveen, who stated, “This was a cowardly premeditated attack perpetrated by the defendant who was held accountable by a jury of his peers. Upon receipt of his sentence, justice will be served.”

Sentencing in this case will has been continued until Friday, June 14, 2024, at 0930 in front of the Honorable Chief Judge Stephen G. Scarlett, Sr.

Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.