WASHINGTON COUNTY, Georgia — The case against three former Washington County Deputies charged with murder by tasing heads back to court next week.
In July 2017, Eurie Martin died by the side of Deepstep Road after being tased. Someone saw Martin walking along the road and called the sheriff’s office. His family says he was mentally ill. But prosecutors say he’d done nothing wrong and the officers had no reason to tase him.
The Washington County Sheriff fired Henry Lee Copeland, Michael Howell and Rhett Scott for allegedly not following tasing policies. They are all charged with felony murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless conduct and more.
Since then courts have thrown out the charges and then reinstated them and the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the case should go forward. But in 2021 a Washington County jury couldn’t agree on whether to acquit or convict the three leading to a mistrial.
Now Columbus-area prosecutor George Lipscomb is handling the second trial because the local DA wanted to avoid a conflict of interest.
He says lawyers next week will discuss several pre-trial motions before Judge H Gibbs Flanders. They include limiting pretrial questioning of jurors and the defense request to dismiss charges or grant immunity to the three suspects.
Lipscomb says the case may get to a second trial in late summer or this fall.
The hearing starts at 10 a.m. on Thursday in the Washington County Courthouse in Sanders.