ATLANTA — New information has been released in the deadly shooting of Koko Da Doll in a murder warrant issued for 17-year-old Jermarus Jernigan. The warrant was signed on April 27, one day after Jernigan woke up to see himself on the news being mentioned as a person of interest in the April 18 deadly shooting.
His mom, who only wanted to be identified as Ashley said, “I woke him up and he (Jernigan) said ‘Mom you know it wasn’t me I wouldn’t do something like that,’ and I said I know baby.”
There were several pictures released by Atlanta Police to local news outlets that showed a man inside a Chevron near the crime scene on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. Koko was shot and killed just a few hundred feet from the front door of the gas station. At the time of APD released the pictures, they were asking for the public’s help in identifying the man.
Ashley said their phones were blowing up, adding "He said I’m going to go down there (APD headquarters) and clear my name.”
She added that her son, who just turned 17-years-old, went down to APD headquarters with her sister and has not returned home. She said they arrested him and charged him with murder.
11Alive got a copy of his warrants including Jernigan’s murder warrant. The warrant states the deadly shooting was caught on video by the cameras outside the Wendy’s on H.E. Holmes. The lead detective on the case stated in the warrant they could see the alleged shooter wearing a white hoodie with a specific emblem on the front of it and slides in the video before the person ran off.
The detective then stated they found more video from nearby businesses including video from inside a nearby Chevron on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. that showed a man wearing the white hoodie with the emblem and slides similar to what they saw in the video of the shooting. It was the still frames of the video inside the Chevron that APD released to news outlets where Jernigan saw himself.
However, the warrant states while Jernigan admitted he was the person inside the Chevron he didn’t shoot anyone. The detective stated based on the evidence, they had a judge agreed there was probable cause to sign a murder warrant on Jernigan. He was arrested and remains in jail with no bond.
His mom said her son is not the type of person to kill anyone. She told 11Alive her son didn’t even own a gun.
When asked whether her son would tell her if he killed anyone, Ashley replied “Yes, he would, because my son is not like that. I raised my son to be right. I didn’t raise him to do nothing to harm him, hurt him or send him away.”
She added, “He didn’t’ turn himself in for nothing. He went to clear his name. I’m going to clear that up right now. Stop saying he turned himself in because he murdered somebody. No, he did not murder no body. My son went down there to clear his name.”
A motive was not mentioned in the warrant. However, a witness did tell the detective she saw Koko in a verbal altercation with a man near a MARTA bus stop near the complex she was seen leaving, just before the gunshots rang out.
The woman said Koko and the man continued to argue into the roadway until she heard the shots and then saw Koko lying in the road. The warrant stated the witness ran to find someone to call 911.
It was also mentioned in the warrant that two males were seen running just seconds after the shooting but no other details have been released as far is if there is a second person being sought in Koko’s death.
Known by loved ones as Rasheeda Williams, Koko Da Doll is one of three transgender women who’ve recently been victims of violent crime, according to Atlanta Police.
Williams was also the star of the documentary "Kokomo City" and described by one of her close friends Dominque Silver as a "light to all of us in the trans community."