Macon murder case tossed for man who admitted to fatal shooting, but argued self-defense

Yahoo

14-02-2025

The man charged with murder after admitting during his brother's trial that he fatally shot someone during a road rage incident has had his case dismissed.
Jacorey Dean, who was accused of murdering Nathaniel Fuller in April 2024 after Fuller allegedly pulled a gun on Dean and his brother, was told by Macon Judicial Circuit Judge Ken Smith on Wednesday that he deserved immunity and dismissed his murder charges. Dean's brother, Jordan Dean, was previously charged with Fuller's murder. But during Jordan Dean's trial, his brother admitted to the shooting while on the stand. So a jury acquitted Jordan Dean, and Jacorey Dean was charged with murder instead.
Jordan Dean, who still was convicted of evidence tampering at his trial despite being acquitted of murder, was once again charged with evidence tampering in a new indictment against both brothers. Prosecutors asked Wednesday for those charges to be dismissed, and the judge agreed. District Attorney Anita Howard's office has appealed Jordan Dean's acquittal.
'We have the conviction of the other case,' said Tony May, one of the prosecutors in the case. 'We're actually satisfied with that resolution.'
Kyle Owenby prosecuted the case alongside May. P. MacKenzie Miller and Travis Griffin represented Jordan Dean while Keith Fitzgerald represented Jacorey Dean.
The day before the Dean brothers shot at Fuller on Eisenhower Parkway, Jacorey Dean had called Jordan Dean to pick him up from his house as his wife, friends and daughters spent some time together, Jacorey Dean said in court Wednesday. He stayed the night with his brother and, at around 5 a.m., they both woke up to go to work, court records show.
The brothers drove their mother's white Dodge Challenger and, at the intersection of Bloomfield Road and Bloomfield Drive, they stopped behind Fuller's blue Chevy Blazer.
As they drove through Eisenhower Parkway, Fuller brake checked the brothers, which led Jordan Dean to travel to the second lane to pass the vehicle, court records say.
The passenger door of the Challenger was next to the Fuller's Blazer, according to court records. Fuller's windows were rolled down and he had pointed a pistol toward the brothers, when Jordan Dean 'stopped short' and was close to the back bumper of the Blazer, court records show.
Both cars traveled near each other for more than a mile and a half, with Fuller attempting to ram the Challenger and pointing a gun toward the vehicle out of an open window, court records show.
Jordan Dean fired a 'warning shot' through the windshield with their mother's firearm, but it did not stop Fuller, the court documents allege. He 'sped up more to position himself directly next to' the Challenger. Jacorey Dean fired at Fuller and shot him, court records say.
'I rolled the windows down because, if he tried to get up on us, like, what would be his intentions?' said Jacorey Dean during his testimony. 'And so ... I grabbed the (gun), just in case I was gonna have to shoot, you know, to defend my brother.'
After being shot, Fuller ran off the road and crashed into a backyard, according to testimony from Cpl. Johnathan Kirkland, who responded to the scene. Fuller was found dead by deputies on the scene, with injuries to his left temple, his left shoulder, his left leg and his right thigh. The Blazer's rear window was shattered and, on the driver's side of the door were gunshot holes and white paint transferred from ramming into the Challenger.
The Challenger had damage to the windshield, as a result of Jordan Dean's shot, and blue transfer paint on the passenger door.
'I thought we were both gonna die,' Jacorey Dean said.
As Owenby questioned Jacorey Dean in court Wednesday, he asked whether he or Jordan Dean had called 911 and if Fuller had made verbal threats toward them. Jacorey Dean said no to both questions.
During his closing arguments, Owenby questioned Jacorey Dean's credibility and pointed out that Fuller did not attempt to enter the vehicle. The judge didn't agree with Owenby's arguments.
'I'm gonna grant (the immunity motion),' Smith said in court Wednesday. 'I think he deserves immunity. There's no evidence here in what way, shape or form to prove that there has been anything ... uncontroversial. I'm not trying to minimize what the state is trying to do here ... but at the end of the day, the only testimony I have for purposes of the immunity hearing is effectively consistent.'
Jacorey Dean will remain at the Bibb County Jail until Friday, when prosecutors and attorneys decide if he gets to leave jail. He's still facing charges of evidence tampering, and the groups have to decide how those charges will proceed.