FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Fulton County judge has recused herself from a murder case involving six deputies accused of killing a man while he was in jail custody. She said other judges in the county should do the same.
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker made her decision during the deputies' arraignment hearing on Wednesday.
May was arrested in September 2018 on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. According to a 2019 lawsuit filed by May's family, he was having a mental health crisis while on amphetamines and was throwing rocks at the American Cancer Society building in Atlanta. May was taken to Grady Hospital for medical clearance after his arrest, where he was diagnosed with substance abuse psychotic disorder. He was then booked in Fulton County Jail. His family never saw him alive again.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said May got into a fight with jail staff which led to an altercation. The family of the 32-year-old said guards beat May and sprayed him with a hose. He died in Fulton County custody.
Last month, state brought charges against deputies Arron Cook, Guito Dela Cruz, Omar Jackson, Jason Roache, Kenesia Strowder and William Whitaker in the case. The six jailers are facing charges for felony murder, aggravated assault, battery and two counts of violation of oath by public officer.
Attorneys representing two of the accused jailers were in court Wednesday to plead not guilty for their clients. Representatives for the other four filed a waiver to ultimately do the same. Before going any further with the case, Judge Whitaker recused herself, adding that she did not believe any Fulton County judge should hear the case because of a conflict of interest.
Kimani King, an attorney representing Dela Cruz, was one of the attorneys in the courtroom Wednesday and said he respected the judge's decision.
"She's a former prosecutor with the district attorney's office and now she's a judge in Fulton County and there's a high emotions when it comes to this case," he said. "These are all Fulton County deputies and the deputies are the ones that protect the courtrooms and protect the courthouse and transport people from the jail."
According to Whitaker's court biography, she previously worked as a deputy district attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office under its appeals division. She was seated as a judge in 2017.
King recognized that she is avoiding a conflict of interest, but noted it may delay the case.
"We were here to plead not guilty to all the charges and then talk to the judge about the scheduling of the case," King said. "He (Dela Cruz) wants to put this behind him and that's another reason why we decided to show up to court"
King said he's planning to take the case to trial and said his client is innocent of all charges.