SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie Broder today announced that she will convene a grand jury to present the findings of a GBI investigation related to the Griffin Police Department’s investigation of the May 2021 murder of Javarreis Reid.
“Upon receiving the report from Special Agent Adam Thompson with the GBI, I assigned the case involving DJ King to my Fayette County Office. They have reviewed the report, and I met with the entire team last week. It is our decision to present this case to a Spalding County Grand Jury. As the new grand jury for the September term will not be impaneled until October 4, I will recall the September grand jurors in November to hear evidence in the case,” Broder said. “The investigation did reveal policy violations, and I forwarded a letter of notice to City Manager Jessica O’Connor regarding those.”
Broder contacted the GBI after an exclusive investigation by The GRIP revealed Griffin Police Department Sgt. D’Marquivius “D.J.” King had been disciplined for concealing the alleged involvement of his brother, Damon Beck, in Reid’s murder.
“What we’re asking is that they (the GBI) investigate this situation relevant to the letter of reprimand that you provided to us alleging this conduct by Investigator King,” Senior Assistant District Attorney David Studdard said in February in explanation of the D.A.’s request for a GBI investigation.
Javarreis Reid was shot and killed in the early morning of May 9, 2021, his body discovered in the road in the vicinity of 323 N. 5th St.
King, who was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division, worked that night assisting the Uniform Patrol Division, having clocked in at 5:37 p.m. Saturday.
Records indicate King clocked out at GPD headquarters on Poplar Street at 1:21 a.m. Saturday.
The first call reporting the shooting was received by Spalding E911 at 1:38 a.m.
Despite having clocked out 17 minutes before that 911 call, the computer aided dispatch (CAD) history related to Reid’s murder places King at the scene at 1:40:55, one minute and 19 seconds after GPD Patrolman Jonathan Fincher was dispatched on the call.
As the CID investigator on call May 9, the Reid murder case was assigned to King. He maintained his status as the lead investigator until October 2021 when he was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the Uniform Patrol Division.
On Nov. 30, approximately one month after the Reid murder case was reassigned to another investigator, Lt. John Hayes entered a written reprimand in the GPD Guardian Tracking system.
“On May 9, 2021 Investigator King was responsible for the investigation of the murder of Javarreis Reid. It was determined during the investigation that Investigator King’s brother Damon Beck is involved in the murder. Investigator King failed to notify his chain of command of the conflict of interest and did not list Damon Beck as a suspect on any documentation,” Hayes wrote in his reprimand of King.
Although Hayes stated in November 2021 that Beck was “involved in the murder,” it was not until July 2022 – more than seven months later – that arrest warrants were obtained for Sgt. King’s brother and two additional suspects, Isaiah Trice and Shantavia Godfrey.
Beck, who was facing charges of murder and aggravated assault, remained at large from July 2022 until Feb. 16, 2023, the day The GRIP published the first article in this investigative series, when he was taken into custody and transported to the Spalding County Jail.
King was placed on administrative leave in February after Broder requested the GBI investigation.
GPD Chief Mike Yates was placed on administrative leave in May. City Manager Jessica O’Connor said Yates leave was also related to the GBI investigation.
“This action was taken in connection with the pending GBI investigation requested by District Attorney Marie Broder into the matter involving Sgt. D’Marquivius “DJ” King which – as also previously reported – led to Sgt. King’s placement on administrative leave in February,” O’Connor said in a statement released April 29.
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