ATLANTA — A teen on probation stands accused of shooting a man and leaving him in critical condition. He was supposed to be getting help as a youth transformation program when the shooting occurred.
11Alive’s Ashley Johnson took a closer look at Visions Unlimited, the youth transformation program 17-year-old Jayden Myrick was sent to. Myrick is accused of shooting the popular D.C. chef attending a wedding in Brookhaven last week.
In an August 2017 hearing in Fulton County Superior Court, prosecutors warned that Myrick, who had earlier pleaded guilty to an armed robbery he committed in 2015 when he was 14, was so dangerous that he had committed even more violent crimes during the two and a half years he'd been in youth detention.
The judge decided to release him on probation anyway a few days after the hearing, when he turned 17, rather than send him to an adult prison. It took less than a month for Myrick to end up in jail again, in September 2017, for violating his probation.
Judge Doris Downs refused to revoke probation for Myrick in 2017 and recommended he go to Visions Unlimited.
But when looking into the program, 11Alive found they do not have a working website. Instead, it's a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated since 2011.
In court transcripts, Gwen Sands, the CEO of Visions Unlimited, told the judge it was appropriate for Myrick as it would be like going to military school.
So 11Alive set out to find the center after Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard questioned what taxpayers are really paying for?
“It’s clear in that he was not in the custody of the program, as he was posting all of the Instagram postings with him being out of custody, so I’m not real sure he ever appeared,” Howard said.
After some searching, calling, and visiting various addresses, 11Alive couldn't find Visions Unlimited. That’s when we reached out to Sands.
She never returned Johnson’s call but did tell 11Alive earlier when we asked about Myrick’s case that, “I don’t have any idea, I don’t understand any of it.”
“What kind of programs are available at Visions Unlimited to handle a person of this statue,” Howard asked.
And as far as Judge Downs, her office said she’s not commenting on Myrick’s case.
District Attorney Howard is calling for these programs to be better vetted so taxpayers can be sure these programs work or even exist.
