GRAND JURY DECREES AYER'S SHOOTING JUSTIFIED

The shooting death of Shoal Creek Baptist Minister Jonathan Ayers on
Sept. 1, was deemed "legally justified" by a specially convened
Stephens County Grand Jury Dec. 18.

This verdict was handed down after three days of testimony with six
witnesses and the entire investigative file of the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation (GBI), which included a five volume case file consisting
of 92 exhibits including incident reports, investigative summmaries,
crime laboratory reports, search warrants, property receipts, 911
records, medical records, personnel files and other documents, 26
compact discs, and three digital versatile discs.

The grand jury found that the use of deadly force by Agent Billy Shane
Harrison was legally justified based upon his belief that such use of
force was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself
or others.

The grand jury also found, based upon the evidence, that the officers
involved in the incident would be immune from criminal prosecution
pursuant to Official Code of Georgia Annotated S16-3-24-2.

Jurors heard conflicting testimonies, such as that from Kayla Barrett,
the woman who was reportedly in the vehicle with Ayers before the shooting.

Barrett stated that she had got drugs from Shawn Dooley that she gave
to Deputy Commander Chance Oxner of the Mountain Judicial NCIS Team
and she and Oxner had walked to an Exxon station on Currahee Street to
buy cigarettes. They had left the store and were walking by a Goodyear
store when she got in the vehicle with "Jay," (Ayers) who was driving
a red Honda. Barrett said she borrowed $20 from him to pay her rent at
the Relax Inn and he dropped her off at the office at the Relax Inn.

Barrett said as far as she knew "Jay" did not do any kind of
drugs.

Jurors also heard testimony from Phillis Brown, another witness to the
incident who said she was walking up Broad Street and could see the
Shell Station. She said she heard two gunshots and saw two white men,
wearing white T-shirts, running towards the underpass. Brown stated
that one of the men ran at the fire department and one kept running
straight. She said her mother pulled up and she got in the vehicle
with her and as she drove past the wrecked vehicle she saw a man was
shot.

Another witness, James Dale Watkins stated he had also witnessed the
shooting.

Watkins stated that he was driving to the Shell station to get gas
when he observed a red Honda in the center of the parking lot.

Watkins said he then heard an undercover police officer yellin, "Hold
it, stop, I'm a police office," and saw the officer standing at the
side of the red Honda. Watkins said he then saw the Honda pull forward
and swerve toward the officer in an attempt to hit the officer with
his vehicle, and then swerve to hit the officer with his front fender.
At that point, Watkins said he saw the undercover officer fire his
weapon twice at the vehicle.

Watkins stated the the Honda pulled out of the parking lot and the
undercover officer ran out behind it. Watkins then drove his truck
behind the officer running after the Honda and offered him a ride,
which the officer declined. The officer did borrow Watkins' cell phone.

Watkins said he then saw the officer run across the road to where the
Honda had wrecked because he saw the driver attempting to crank up the
vehicle again in what looked to him as an attempt to drive away.

Watkins said he only saw the one officer that fired the shots and
never saw the other officer. He said that the undercover officer only
fired his weapon after the individual in the red Honda had cut his
wheels to knock him down.

These are just three summaries of the many testimonies and pages of
evidence that jurors heard and sorted through.

In addition, the grand jury was also advised by District Attorney
Brian Rickman that he had asked two outside district attorneys,
Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter and Mountain Circuit
District Attorney Emeritus Mike Crawford to review the matter. Each
appeared before the grand jury to answer questions concerning legal
issues and for their review of the investigation of the matter.

Since Ayer's death there have been numerous vigils in his honor and a
monument dedicated to him at the church where he ministered, Shoal
Creek Baptist in Hart County. He leaves behind a wife and unborn child
and a host of family members.