It’s not every day that the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit’s chief public defender and elected district attorney personally argue conflicting concerns for a defendant’s right to a fair trial and the public’s right to know in front of a judge at the Bulloch County Judicial Annex, but it happened Monday morning, June 30.
Chief Public Defender Renata Newbill-Jallow had filed a motion for a gag order, seeking to restrict pretrial communication outside the courtroom in the case of Anthony DeJarion Kent. Now 20, Kent is the Vidalia man facing multiple charges including aggravated assault of a peace officer and felony obstruction in connection with the April 16, 2024, shooting of Advanced Patrol Officer Joey Deloach of the Statesboro Police Department. DeLoach received a life-threatening injury, but survived and recovered to return to active duty.
When both Newbill-Jallow and District Attorney Robert Busbee appeared before Superior Court Judge Ronald K. "Ronnie" Thompson for the 9 a.m. Monday motion hearing, Kent was also brought into the courtroom. Handcuffed, he wore a jail uniform and now has a moderately short haircut.
He hadn't been in the courtroom for the calendar call last Thursday, June 26, when Thompson, speaking to the attorneys, noted that jury selection for the trial was slated for July 8. Conferring with court clerks Monday about courtroom availability, he slated the trial itself for Aug. 4–8. Attorneys for both sides have said they expect the trial, not counting jury selection, to last three or four days.
Gag order request
So the scheduling was Monday's other news. But most of the discussion revolved around the gag order request.
"A gag order is appropriate in this case due to the excessive publicity that has been given and will be given to this case leading up to and during trial," Newbill-Jallow told the judge. "Entry of such an order is imperative to ensure that Mr. Kent receives a fair trial and impartial jurors."
Observing that several "local" TV stations have covered the case, the defense attorney asserted that "potential witnesses from A to Z have commented on the evidence" and that their commentary "sometimes does not accurately reflect the evidence."
Referring to police body-worn camera video, she read a passage from a Thursday, May 15, Statesboro Herald story quoting Statesboro Police Chief Mike Broadhead, who had said that Deloach had "ordered him to come out and show his hands."
"Judge, that is not completely accurate, as to what the alleged victim said to my client," said Newbill-Jallow.
In answer to the judge's questions, the public defender said her knowledge was based on her own viewing of the video, and that what Deloach had said was, "Get your f…ing hands up!"
Thompson said such media reports might arguably give some jurors a "preview of the evidence," but that potential jurors will be vetted by the attorneys during the selection process and instructed to base their verdict only on what is presented in court.
"I guess in a perfect world the jury wouldn't know anything about the case until (presented with) the evidence," he said.
Newbill-Jallow also referred to "community comments" in news media comment threads or on social media indicating that the defense was "asking to exclude all videos, which is not true."
The judge has said that police bodycam footage from the encounter in which shots were fired will be admissible for the trial, and the defense has not challenged this. But Thompson said that certain video footage from later, such as at the hospital, would probably only be admissible if there is a sentencing phase.
May 9 non-deal
The public defender also referred to media reports and public comment surrounding a previous May 9 court date. This had been a "plea calendar" date on the court schedule, with Kent on the list to appear.
Newbill-Jallow asserted that TV and internet reports that the defense had surprised others at court by not entering a plea that day gave a false impression. She particularly objected to a statement that "the announcement by his attorney appeared to blindside everyone involved." This was from a Facebook comment posted by The Georgia Virtue writer Jessica Szilagyi with a link to TGV's May 9 news story, but not in the story itself.
"At no time did we as the defense have an agreement. …," said Newbill-Jallow. "In fact, the last communication the defense had with the state was an email when the state informed the defense that it was not going to accept our counteroffer. Therefore, on May the 9th there would have been no plea."
However, the D.A.'s Office on May 9 issued a media release, also reported by the Statesboro Herald, stating that Kent had rejected a plea offer. The release did not reveal the terms of that offer.
With her written motion filed electronically by the court clerk's office June 23, Newbill-Jallow seeks a gag order barring attorneys for the prosecution as well as the defense from making "any statements about or (releasing) information concerning the case" to individuals "including, but not limited to, radio, television, social media, blogs or newspaper reporters."
She would also have the order bar public statements or news comments by any potential witnesses and law enforcement officials who might testify.
D.A. responds
In his written response filed June 24 and in the courtroom Monday, Busbee argued that a gag order is unnecessary.
"Defendant's Motion for a prior restraint of all parties and witnesses fails to overcome the presumption in favor of freedom of speech enshrined in the 1st Amendment; does not meet even the lowest burden of showing a reasonable likelihood of prejudice; or eliminate any less restrictive alternatives; and must fail as a matter of law," asserts one passage of his written response.
He cited a 2018 opinion of the Georgia Supreme Court in the case WXIA-TV v. State, which in turn referred to a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart (1976) that a gag order is a prior restraint on the First Amendment rights of those to whom it applies and should be "narrowly tailored."
However, Busbee agreed with Judge Thompson when he noted that those rulings do allow for gag orders in certain circumstances.
"But I don't know that I would be willing to infringe on the public's right to know what's going on in a case of public interest," Busbee said.
First elected last year and district attorney since January, he referred at one point during the discussion to the interests of "the public and voters" and asserted that either side might correct misunderstandings. Newbill-Jallow mentioned the "voters" comment as suggesting a desire to "try the case in the media."
Thompson urged the attorneys to avoid staking out extreme stances in the matter. He did not rule on the gag order request Monday, June 30, but suggested he may do so by Monday, July 7, when he has slated a general motions hearing in the case the day before jury selection.
April 2024 incident
At 10 p.m. on April 16, 2024, the Statesboro Police Department received a call that an unknown person was in the parking lot of Copper Beach Townhomes on Statesboro Place Circle, checking cars.
Eight officers initially reportedly responded to the scene. They set up a perimeter and started walking in to cover the whole lot, according to Chief Broadhead's retelling.
Shortly afterward, Deloach came upon a man in a vehicle.
"He ordered him to come out and show his hands," Broadhead said in the earlier interview. "That's when the guy's upper body came out of the car. The gun was in his hand. He turned right at the officer and started shooting."
Deloach returned fire and the suspect fled, according to previous police statements. The suspect, whom police later identified as Kent, reportedly ran into a wooded area before emerging near Brampton Avenue, where he was taken into custody by SPD officers and Bulloch County Sheriff's Office deputies.
Meanwhile, Deloach had received a wound from a bullet that struck the femoral artery in his left leg. After fellow SPD Officer Nicolas Sparks-Hoskins immediately applied a tourniquet to Deloach's leg, he was rushed to East Georgia Regional Medical Center and then flown to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. After multiple surgeries and a nine-day hospital stay, he went home to continue his recovery before returning to active duty last September.
In early May 2024, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Kent, then just 19, with aggravated assault against a peace officer, felony obstruction of an officer, felony theft by receiving stolen property and two felony counts of entering vehicles. An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but only a finding by a majority of grand jurors that evidence is sufficient for the charges to go to trial.