The Statements Were Ruled Voluntary and Admissible
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IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA STATE OF GEORGIA, Prosecution, v. 1:17-CR-1530 BEN C. GRIFFIN, Defendant. INDICTMENT Witnesses: Fulton Superior Court APD: Det. A. T. King September Term, 2017 Offense (s): 1. Malice Murder 2. Voluntary Manslaughter True BILL Carl White Carl White, Foreperson Returned in open court by Grand Jury, This 5th day of September, 2017. Barbara Underwood Barbara Underwood, Clerk The defendant herein waives a copy of indictment, list of witnesses, formal arraignment and pleads Not guilty. This 15th day of September, 2017 Ben C. Griffin Defendant Bucky Ward Dudley Straight Attorney for Defendant Prosecutor 2 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FULTON COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA THE GRAND JURORS selected, chosen and sworn for the County of Fulton, to wit: 1. Carl White, Foreperson 13. Kip Stump 2. Helen Matthews 14. Jennifer Wyrick 3. Sally Frank 15. Brad Pitt 4. Tim Swenson 16. Mike Mears 5. Mrs. H. T. Turpin 17. T. J. Whatley 6. Tina Epps 18. Dabney Pope 7. Cosmo Kramer 19. Dianne Erickson 8. Mike Juniper 20. Matt Finklestein 9. Larry Ferguson 21. Mark Henry 10. Susan Nagel 22. Star Shine 11. Lora Colander 12. Bruce Harvey Count 1 In the name and behalf of the citizens of Georgia, charge and accuse Ben C. Griffin with the offense of Murder in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(a) in that the said accused, in the County of Fulton and State of Georgia, on August 4, 2017, did then and there unlawfully, and with malice aforethought, cause the death of James Hurst, a human being, by shooting him with a pistol, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof. Count 2 In the name and behalf of the citizens of Georgia, charge and accuse Ben C. Griffin with the offense of Voluntary Manslaughter in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-2 in that the said accused, in the County of Fulton and State of Georgia, on August 4, 2017, did then and there unlawfully cause the death of James Hurst, a human being, by shooting him with a pistol, while acting solely as the result of a sudden, violent, and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation sufficient to excite such passion in a reasonable person, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof. 3 Stipulations Both parties agree to the following stipulations: 1. The defendant must be male. All other witnesses are gender neutral. 2. All procedural requirements under the Federal Rules of Procedure have been met. The Federal Rules of Evidence and Criminal Procedure apply at trial. 3. The prosecution must call Det. A. T. King and Alex Miller as witnesses in its case-in- chief. 4. The defense must call Morgan Burleson and Ben Griffin as witnesses in its case-in-chief. 5. Photographs of the bayonet, boxcutter, and .38 caliber pistol will substitute for the actual weapons being brought to court. No reference should be made to the failure to produce the actual weapons at trial. 6. The Preliminary Hearing transcript is a certified copy. All other documents are original and authentic. All statements are signed by the party giving them. 7. A Jackson v. Denno hearing was held on the written and oral statements of the Defendant. The statements were ruled voluntary and admissible. 8. The State Crime Lab report showed the blood alcohol content of the victim, James Hurst, to be .11 with trace amounts of cocaine noted. The blood alcohol content of Ben Griffin was .07. 9. The State Crime Lab ballistics report shows the .38 caliber bullet recovered from James Hurst was fired by the .38 caliber Colt pistol having the serial number 1234. 10. An autopsy report shows the male decedent, identified as James Hurst (white male 5’11” 183 pounds), suffered a single penetrating injury to the sternum 3 centimeters below the clavicle. There is no skin tattooing or gun residue. The wound shows cavitation and penetrating injury to the root of the aorta and right atrium. A metallic projectile consistent with a .38 caliber was recovered in the disc space of T7 and T8. The path of the projectile was a downward angle in relation to entry wound. Death would have been within 20 seconds. 11. The State Crime Lab report shows the blood on the boxcutter knife belonged to Ben Griffin. The only fingerprints on the boxcutter knife belong to James Hurst. The WWII bayonet showed only fingerprints of James Hurst. The fingerprints on the .38 caliber pistol belong to Ben Griffin. A nitrate test was done on the hands of Ben Griffin and showed that he had recently fired a gun. 12. There is no requirement in Georgia that a handgun be registered if it is carried in the 4 glove compartment of your vehicle. 13. Teams will be permitted to bring a tape measure to court for demonstrative purposes if they so choose. 14. Sunset on August 4, 2017 was 8:34 p.m. daylight savings time. The weather was clear. 15. The defense has given the prosecution notice of using justification self-defense. 16. No additions or deletions can be made to the jury charges. Author’s note: Ray Lee’s Blue Lantern Lounge was a notorious bar/dive which was in operation for over fifty years. During that time, it was the scene of many fights, assaults, and a few homicides. The problem is based on one of those homicides. Rocking Louie’s only hit was Club Savoy. 5 Judge Harvey Moskowitz Preliminary Hearing August 10, 2017 Judge Moskowitz: This is a probable cause hearing on Ben Griffin, who is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter. Mr. Griffin is represented by Attorney Bucky Ward. The state is represented by Assistant District Attorney Barbara Harding. Ms. Harding, you may proceed. Harding: After being duly sworn, please state your name for the record and give the court your education and experience. King: I am Detective A. T. King. I am with the Atlanta Homicide Squad, City of Atlanta Police Department. I have a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Elon College. I served as a Lieutenant in the United States Army Military Police for two years. I then joined the Atlanta Police Department. I am Peace Officer Standards and Training Certified. After I joined the Atlanta PD, I served as a Patrol Officer for three years and was promoted to Homicide Detective two years ago. I have completed the FBI Firearms School and am a Qualified Firearms Instructor. I have also completed basic and advanced Criminal Investigation Techniques. I have investigated approximately twenty homicides. Harding: When were you called to the Blue Grotto on August 4, 2017? King: I received a signal 60, person shot at 19:17 and arrived ten minutes later. The Blue Grotto Lounge is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Fulton County. I 6 realized immediately upon arrival that this would be a very difficult crime scene to process. There was a large crowd gathered and many of them were drunk. The Blue Grotto has a notorious reputation. Therefore, I made the decision to close the club and clear the scene and parking lot except for the defendant’s car and the victim’s SUV. The defendant was in the back of a Grady Hospital ambulance awaiting transport. I told uniform officers to follow the ambulance to Grady Hospital, where the defendant could be treated, and then to take him to the homicide office, so a nitrate swab of his hands could be completed. When I arrived at the scene, the defendant’s left arm had already been treated by Grady EMT’s. We began interviewing the patrons for witnesses and we let them go if they had not seen anything. There was very little cooperation. We could only find two witnesses who volunteered to give statements as to what happened. Several biker-types stated that the guy had it coming but would not say anything else. The medical examiner arrived and put a temporary tent around the victim. I found a gun and bayonet in the parking lot, and I marked the location of those items for later reconstruction. After the parking lot was cleared, we began taking pictures and measurements. This was around 20:10. I sent the gun, which was a six-shot Colt revolver (serial number 1234), the World War II bayonet, and a boxcutter knife that I found in the floorboard of the victim’s SUV to the State Crime Lab for analysis. I talked to Officer P. A. Kincaid, who was the first officer on the scene. He stated that as he 7 pulled into the parking lot, Griffin dropped the gun and raised his hands. Kincaid noticed that the defendant had been cut on his left arm. The defendant refused treatment from Grady EMT’s until Kincaid took a picture of his bleeding arm. The defendant was yelling that he shot the man in self-defense. He yelled, “The son of a bitch had it coming and he got what he deserved.” Harding: Can you identify these photos please? King: These are the photographs I took except for the picture of the defendant’s arm, which was taken by Kincaid. These are photographs of the crime scene, which includes a close up of the bayonet, the pistol, the boxcutter knife, and the glove compartment of the defendant’s car. Harding: Based on your investigation Detective, did the defendant shoot James Hurst in self-defense? King: No. Harding: Why? King: The victim was shot from thirty feet away.