MACON, Ga. — A jury found a Macon man not guilty of murder in a deadly April shooting after his attorney says someone else confessed to pulling the trigger while on the stand.
The jury handed down the verdict on Friday, finding Jordan Lavoris Dean not guilty in the death of Nathaniel Fuller, court records show.
Fuller, 42, was found shot and killed on April 10 in his blue Chevrolet Blazer in a backyard on 2000 block of Winston Drive. That's near Eisenhower Parkway.
Fuller was among six people shot and killed during a string of deadly shootings during one week in April.
But after the trial, Dean was found not guilty of the most serious charges against him: malice murder, voluntary manslaughter, felony murder and aggravated assault.
"The case against Jordan Lavoris Dean was a very difficult case," the Macon District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
In the middle of the trial, Dean's attorney Travis Griffin said that Dean's brother Jacorey Dean was arrested after he admitted on the stand that he was the one who shot Fuller.
The Macon District Attorney's Office confirmed Jacorey's on-the-stand confession and says it "made the decision for the jury as to Jordan Dean even more complicated." The DA's Office, however, says there were two guns in the car, which they say were both used in the shooting
Jacorey was arrested after his testimony, and they say they've issued an arrest warrant against Jacorey Dean and his case will go before a grand jury for an indictment.
However, Griffin argues that this a simple case of self-defense, arguing in court that Fuller chased the Dean brothers for almost two miles, rammed their car and pointed a gun at them before the shooting took place.
Griffin says Dean was convicted of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and tampering with evidence.
But the possession of a firearm charge was vacated, Griffin said, because Dean was acquitted on the underlying felony, aggravated assault.
"The availability of evidence to pursue justice varies case by case. It is not our job to pursue just the 'easy' cases," the Macon District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "We must pursue the cases we believe are right and just. It is the role of juries to determine whether someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
All told, Griffin says Dean received only 12 months in jail for the tampering with evidence charge.