GRIFFIN, Ga. — A grand jury Thursday indicted a former Griffin Police Officer, accusing him failing to properly investigate a murder his "brother" was suspected of committing.
The grand jurors formally accused D'Marquivius "D.J." King of one felony count of violation of oath by a public officer.
RELATED: Officer under investigation after allegedly failing to disclose murder suspect was his 'brother'
The indictment comes three months after an 11Alive investigation into the case. Reached on Friday, King declined comment.
In 2021, King was tasked with investigating the murder or Javarreis Reid. The indictment alleges King's brother, Damon Beck, became a suspect in the killing -- but King did not include that information in the investigation.
According to the indictment, King "did fail to document in any reports prepared in connection with the investigation that Damon Beck was a suspect in said murder and did further fail to diligently and timely pursue the investigation of said murder and Damon Beck's involvement."
Grand jurors returned the indictment "after hearing from King" and other witnesses, according to the document and a statement from Griffin Judicial Circuit D.A. Marie Broder said.
Damon Beck wasn’t apprehended until more than a year later, in 2023, according to Spalding County Sheriff’s Office records. When authorities finally arrested him, Beck was booked into the jail accused of murder and aggravated assault.
Ray Muhammad, a community activist and friend of Reid's, said the killing still weighs on those who knew Reid.
"We miss Reid," Muhammad said. "His smile was contagious."
King's indictment follows a GBI investigation into his handling of the Reid murder case. In December, 11Alive reported the district attorney in Griffin was planning to present the evidence from the GBI investigation to a grand jury.
In a statement, Griffin City Manager Jessica O'Connor said, "We have learned from past mistakes made by former officers and are continually implementing new policies and practices to ensure that the Griffin Police Department is held in high regard as a professional agency, here to serve our citizens."
After learning of the indictment, Muhammad said it's time for the justice system to uncover the facts of what happened.
"If D.J. King had anything to do with it, then we hope that the law holds him accountable," Muhammad said. "If he did not, then exonerate him."
You can see O'Connor's response to 11Alive questions at the bottom of this article.
The former police chief in Griffin, Michael Yates, told 11Alive in December he does not believe King committed any crimes and responded "absolutely not" when asked if he himself had violated the law.
Yates retired in early 2023 shortly after being placed on "non-disciplinary, administrative leave." His interim replacement, Chief Connie Sampson, became the permanent chief in January 2024.
More about the case--what led up to the indictment
Reid was found dead in Griffin early in the morning of May 9, 2021. He was discovered shot multiple times, lying face-up on the asphalt, according to police and coroner’s reports.
“The main thing I remember about it was the brutality of it,” Spalding County Coroner Michael Pryor told 11Alive.
According to the initial incident report, Griffin Police Department officer Jonathan Fincher drove to the scene in response “to a report of a person shot.” When he arrived, he “observed that Inv. King was already on-scene.”
Investigator D.J. King was a young officer seemingly on the rise in the Griffin Police Department.
After interning with the department as a records clerk in high school, King applied for a full-time position in 2017. Internal police records show many of the references he listed in his application gave a glowing recommendation, citing his maturity and integrity.
Still, a pre-employment “personnel evaluation profile” indicated that King had answered a “significant” number of questions in a manner suggesting he was "not answering the survey questions realistically.” (“Did you ever do anything dishonest in your entire life? Answered ‘No.’”; “In your entire life did you ever do anything that was wrong? Answered ‘No.’”).
The survey warned that it was “CRUCIAL” to “carefully evaluate” the applicant.
King was hired in June 2017. In May 2021, he was tasked with investigating the Javarreis Reid murder.
But according to an internal police record, King had a secret. His brother was a suspect. And King didn’t tell anyone.
“It was determined during the investigation that Investigator King’s brother Damon Beck is involved in the murder,” the document states. “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.”
When 11Alive reported this in December, the police chief at the time, Michael Yates, disputed the document.
“By the time that disciplinary action or investigation took place, he had already disclosed it,” said Yates, adding that Beck was actually King’s “half-brother that he never lived with.” According to Yates, his department investigated King at the time and determined that King's only transgression was "poor documentation of his casework."
The document, a departmental “written reprimand” from November 2021, states that King violated the department’s “duty not to give false or misleading information.”
The date of the violation cited in the reprimand is listed as May 9, 2021, the same day Reid was killed.
Damon Beck wasn’t apprehended until more than a year later, in 2023, according to Spalding County Sheriff’s Office records.
On Sept. 25 of last year, D.A. Marie Broder informed Griffin City Manager Jessica O’Connor that the GBI’s investigation had uncovered “policy violations” committed by King and the department’s then-leader, Chief Yates.
“These violations are egregious enough to have destroyed my Office’s confidence in both Officer King and Chief Yates to effectively perform their duties,” the district attorney stated.
When reached by phone during reporting for 11Alive's initial investigation in December, King declined to comment.
"I adamantly deny any wrongdoing or violations of policy, ever,” Yates wrote in an email to 11Alive. “At no time was I presented with any tangible evidence of criminal action or wrong-doing on Kings [sic] part other than poor case management and lack of documentation in the case.”
Shortly after being placed on "non-disciplinary, administrative leave" in April 2023, Yates submitted his letter of retirement the same day, emphasizing his decision was "contingent upon" his departure being categorized solely as a retirement.
“I am not voluntarily resigning, resigning while under investigation, resigning in lieu of termination or under any other circumstance other than my retirement,” he wrote.
When asked if he thought D.J. King committed any crimes, former chief Yates said, “Unless the GBI has come up with something that I’m unaware of, I do not believe he did.”
When asked if he believed he himself had violated the law, Yates was unequivocal.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
Friends of Reid said the saga involving King was "prolonging our ability to get closure."
“We’re still grieving," Ray Muhammad, Reid's friend, told 11Alive. "Because you had to get an investigator to investigate the investigator who was investigating the case.”
Full statement from Jessica O'Connor, Griffin City Manager
As soon as I learned of the GBI investigation into King’s handling of a 2021 murder investigation of Javarreis Reid, he was placed on administrative leave, pending the results of the GBI investigation. In September 2023, the GBI completed its investigation and provided an investigative summary to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney, Marie Broder. Broder issued a letter stating the investigation revealed “egregious” policy violations requiring her to disallow any further testimony by King in any court of law in the Griffin Judicial Circuit. On September 25, 2023, I conducted a disciplinary conference with King to discuss his loss of job qualifications, at which point he resigned from his position at the City of Griffin.
The City of Griffin believes in an honest, open, democratic government -- dedicated to the highest ideals of honor and integrity to merit the respect, trust, and confidence of the citizens. The conduct that the City -- as an organization and a community -- experienced in this matter does not meet the organizational principles for which we strive. Prior agency administration allowed this conduct to occur by not providing accountability, transparency, and consistency to our department, our organization, and most importantly, our citizens. Since that time, former Chief Mike Yates was removed as the agency head, and the City has moved in a new direction, which is paramount to the future success of our citizens and our Police Department.
Chief Connie Sampson was hired as Interim Chief in July of 2023 to fill in during the investigation into Yates, which ended with his departure from the agency in October 2023. Chief Sampson accepted the full-time position as Chief of Police of the City of Griffin before the new year, taking office on January 1, 2024. Chief Sampson’s experience, leadership, communication skills, and dedication to training make her ideally suited to serve all the citizens of Griffin. Since she took office, the Griffin Police Department has restructured with new leadership, adding a Community Outreach Unit to contribute to the ongoing efforts in shaping the department to improve quality of life by addressing the incidence and root causes of crime. Additionally, the accountability, transparency, and consistency expected in the Department has been felt from top to bottom. Myself, the Board of Commission, the command staff of the agency, and the officers are public servants, working for those that live amongst us. We have learned from past mistakes made by former officers and are continually implementing new policies and practices to ensure that the Griffin Police Department is held in high regard as a professional agency, here to serve our citizens.
Chief Sampson said it best -- “Serving the citizens of Griffin and working with the fine men and women of the Griffin Police Department was something I looked forward to when I began this process. I have now grown to love and admire the vision, mission, and values of the City of Griffin that I feel compelled to continue my journey to ensure those who live, work, visit, or otherwise come in contact with our City feel we are a model of excellence- a safe, well-planned community with equal opportunity for all.”
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