ATLANTA — Georgia State University Police have decided not to take any further action against a student who faced expulsion in the school's gun probe - one day after a story about the investigation aired on 11Alive.
GSU Police Chief Joseph Spillane told 11Alive's Jon Shirek on Friday that the department was lifting the criminal trespass warning against Jabarri Weston immediately.
The news comes after 11Alive reported on Weston's story. GSU Police banned Weston from campus as they continued their investigation to determine if Weston ran into campus property with a gun.
"I did a final review of Jabarri's case today and while we have a very strong circumstantial case, in fairness to him I am lifting the CT immediately and will not take any further action criminally or administratively unless new evidence is found," Spillane said.
On May 26, Atlanta Police responded to a call of shots fired on Auburn Avenue, just east of Piedmont Avenue inside the footprint of GSU's downtown campus.
An Atlanta officer working a side job said he saw a man fire two shots. The officer wrote in his report that he then chased the man through a parking garage only to see him escape into a GSU building, the University Commons student housing center at 141 Piedmont Avenue, using a swipe card.
A Georgia State student, Weston said he was picking up take-out at Mangos Restaurant a few doors down from the gunfire.
When Weston saw all the commotion outside and people fleeing the gunfire, he said he ran for cover, too, out of the restaurant and back to his dorm using his door card to get through the gates. Two hours later, he said he worked up the nerve to go back to the restaurant and get his food and then went home for the night.
Georgia State University Police said they have surveillance video of Weston running into the dorms and using his door card to open the gates.
Atlanta Police questioned Weston, but have made no arrests in their investigation of the gunfire. APD also told 11Alive he was not listed as a suspect at this time.
Georgia State University police also questioned Weston. They searched his room and other rooms. They never found a gun.
Weston said it’s “a case of mistaken identity” that threatens his reputation. He said he doesn’t even match the description of the man the Atlanta officer chased.
Most notably, the gunman had a “slim build with dreds," according to the APD report, which would be a difficult match with Weston, he said. He said he doesn’t have dreds.
“All I went to do is get food,” Weston told 11Alive. “I didn’t know that going to get food at night would suddenly get me kicked out of my dorm and accused of carrying a weapon onto campus.”
But, pending new evidence, Chief Spillane said they won't take any further action against Weston.
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