A superior court judge has set bond for a Bulloch County man charged in the death of a two-year-old.
23-year-old Lenorace Sampson was booked into the Bulloch County Jail in July after a grand jury returned a True Bill of Indictment on a host of charges including Felony Murder, Cruelty to Children in the First Degree, and Aggravated Assault.
The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release after the arrest that deputies, along with officers from the Statesboro Police Department, responded to Lindsay Court in Statesboro on October 5, 2023 for a call of a child not breathing. While lifesaving measures were taken, they were ultimately unsuccessful.
“After a lengthy investigation.., which consisted of multiple interviews of suspects and witnesses, conversations, and meetings with the MEdical Examiner’s office of the GBI (Pooler, Ga. Office) and discussions with the District Attorney’s Office (Ogeechee Circuit), the case was presented to the GRand Jury for the Superior Court of Bulloch County in which the Grand Jurors did find a True Bill of Indictment vs. Lenorace Sampson…”
According to the indictment, Sampson caused the death of two-year-old Elijah Guillaume by ‘causing blunt force trauma of the abdomen…in a manner unknown to the grand jurors…’ in October 2023. The indictment also states that Sampson caused cruel and excessive physical pain by ‘inflicting blunt force trauma upon his [Guillaume’s] head and extremities in a manner unknown to the grand jurors.’ The Aggravated Assault charge is a family violence charge because Sampson and the two-year-old lived in the same household.
During a bond and preliminary hearing on August 6, public defender Kirk Cheney asked the court to set a reasonable bond, though the state opposed his pre-trial release. Ultimately, Judge Lovett Bennett Jr. set a bond for Sampson in the amount of $50,000. Sampson is also required to maintain an ankle monitor, must remain in the state of Georgia, must abide by a curfew, and is prohibited from contacting any possible witnesses.
As of August 19, Sampson had not posted bond and was still in the Bulloch County Jail.
While not as common, Sampson being granted bond is not unprecedented. In the Ogeechee Circuit, a superior court judge has set a bond for at least three other individuals charged with Felony Murder since 2020. In other judicial circuits, like the Atlantic Judicial Circuit (southeast Georgia) and Fulton County, bond has been set for some defendants in certain instances.
Traditional reasons to deny bond include: a significant flight risk, a significant threat or danger to others/the community, significant risk of committing a felony pending trial, and significant risk of intimidating witnesses or otherwise obstructing the administration of justice.
Public court records do not indicate that Sampson has a criminal record.
