The man responsible for shooting a Statesboro Police officer in 2024 was sentenced in Bulloch County Court Friday afternoon.
Background
Officers were dispatched to Copper Beech Townhomes for a report of a man unlawfully entering vehicles in the parking lot. Officers were on foot searching for the suspect when Advanced Patrol Officer Joey Deloach observed a male inside a parked vehicle who matched the description given by the caller. Deloach ordered the male, later identified as 19-year-old Anthony De’Jarion Kent, to exit the vehicle, and an exchange of gunfire resulted as Kent exited. Deloach was struck and fellow officers rendered aid before Deloach was taken to East Georgia Regional Medical Center and ultimately by helicopter to Memorial in Savannah.
Kent was taken into custody by Statesboro Police Officers and deputies with the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office shortly after fleeing on foot. Authorities learned that he had active felony arrest warrants from Treutlen County and, due to his injuries during the exchange of gunfire, he was also taken for treatment before being taken to the Bulloch County Jail.
The Statesboro Police Department requested the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to review the use of force incident and Kent was charged with Aggravated Assault on a Public Safety Officer.
The following month, a grand jury indicted Kent on charges of Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer, two counts of Entering an Automobile, Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, and Obstruction of an Officer (felony).
Kent entered a plea of ‘not guilty’ at his arraignment and later requested a jury trial. He has been held in the Bulloch County Jail since his arrest.
In February, attorneys for Kent asked a judge to exclude body camera evidence due to the graphic nature of the video. He was slated to enter a guilty plea on May 9, but instead asked, again, for a jury trial.
Kent ultimately entered a guilty plea on July 8 ahead of the scheduled jury selection for what was expected to be a five-day trial.
Friday Court Proceedings
Kent appeared in Bulloch County Superior Court with his attorney, Public Defender Renatta Newbill-Jallow before Judge Ronald Thompson. District Attorney Robert Busbee was present along with Chief ADA and Major Crimes prosecutor Jillian Gibson and ADA JB Edwards.
Five rows of other law enforcement officials from Statesboro PD, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Southern PD, the Georgia State Patrol, and the GBI also filled the courtroom.
Victim Impact Statements
Officer Joey Deloach took the witness stand Friday to testify to the factual basis of the allegations for which Kent entered a guilty plea.
He testified that when he asked Kent to show his hands, Kent turned around, made eye contact with him, and began firing his gun. Deloach returned fire while trying to take cover when he noticed that he was bleeding profusely from his thigh. Soon after, other officers arrived at his location.
District Attorney Robert Busbee then played the body camera footage from Deloach and two other officers.
Kent can be seen firing a gun within seconds of encountering Deloach.
Deloach testified that he tried to apply his own tourniquet because he “wasn’t ready to die yet” and did not want to leave his children without a dad. A fellow officer can be seen rendering aid. A third video showed Deloach being pulled from the back of a patrol car by fellow officers upon arrival at the hospital. They could be seen carrying him to a gurney inside the hospital doors before passing him off to medical staff at East Georgia Regional Medical Center. He was later transported to Memorial in Savannah.
Deloach sustained a total of four gunshot wounds – three to the leg and one to the arm. He testified that he lost 50-60% of the blood in his body and medical professionals told him that the tourniquet and the close proximity to the hospital are to credit for his survival.
Busbee asked Deloach about lingering medical issues, which include a lack of feeling in his hand and his leg. He said some days he is in pain, but will be have annual doctors appointments for wound checks for the rest of his life.
Deloach tearfully explained that he went a week without seeing his daughters while he was in the hospital and the difficulty they had in processing what happened to him.
Kent stared at the floor for most of Deloach’s testimony.
Defense co-counsel DuPont Kirk Cheney Jr, asked Deloach if he’d seen other videos involving Kent, including the one of Kent’s arrest.
He asked Deloach when he returned to full work duty, which Deloach said happened on December 2024 – nine months after the incident. He also asked Deloach if he took prescription pain medication or if “it didn’t hurt bad enough” that he could just take Advil or Tylenol.
He also asked if he shined the flashlight in Kent’s eyes when he approached him and inquired about the fact Deloach didn’t identify himself as a police officer. “You just told him to show you his f***ing hands and to get on the f***ing ground.”
At that point, Busbee objected, contending that the line of questioning lacked relevance due to the fact that Kent entered a guilty plea.
Sentencing Recommendations and Arguments
Kent’s maximum exposure was a 40-year sentence.
Prosecutors asked the court to sentence Kent to 40 years, 30 years to be served in Prison and ten years on probation.
Kent’s attorney, public defender Renatta Newbill-Jallow argued that the court should consider that Kent was 19-years-old at the time of the incident. She said the punishment recommended by the state was “cruel and unusual” based on Kent’s age.
Charissa Yvonne Allen, Kent’s mother, testified on behalf of Kent. She spoke on Kent’s childhood and on a psychological evaluation conducted on Kent when he was 15 or 16. She said he suffered from disorders, including Bipolar Mood Disorder. She said his grandparents’ passing took a toll on him as well and shared that Kent was well below the average reading level for his grade for most of his school years.
Newbill-Jallow asked if there was anything she wanted the Court to know.
“I love my son and I do everything in my power for him and my son wasn’t always in this type of behavior. He was a good kid up until his teenage years when he started having difficulty.”
On cross examination, Busbee read from the report that Kent had been under the supervision of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice for a violent incident and where the evaluation listed issues with aggression, making threats, and a time where he stole a firearm from his mother’s drawer.
“You tried to correct this?” Busbee asked.
“We did,” Allen testified.
“And yet here we are. He shot a police officer,” Busbee said.
On redirect, Newbill-Jallow said those incidents happened before Kent was evaluated and compared to other children.
Dr. Kristina Patterson, who works for Georgia Southern University, was also called by Kent’s attorneys. She does not know Kent but reached out to the defense. She said it would save taxpayers $404,010 if he served less than 10 years, instead of the state’s recommendation. She said the money could be invested elsewhere.
Newbill-Jallow asked the court to sentence Kent to the minimum – ten years – and consider Kent’s age. She said mercy was not the absence of accountability, it was the presence of humanity. She lamented that Kent was acting impulsively and possibly under peer pressure. She said juveniles “can change.”
“No one died!” she continued, saying that Deloach also fired his gun at Kent and he could have died in the exchange of gunfire. “If the purpose is to throw away his life, then yeah, 30 years,” in arguing that the prisons are too dangerous.
Busbee rebutted that prisons are dangerous because we put dangerous people in them. He said the defendant has still not taken accountability and the defense tactic was to garner pity for Kent, instead of for the victim in the case. Busbee said the recommendation had no malice in it and that he truly believed Kent was a danger to the community.
“This crime demonstrates a wild and reckless disregard for human life,” Busbee said. He said Kent was committing a low level crime and escalated that to an incident that nearly claimed the life of a police officer.
Kent also addressed the court. He apologized to Deloach for what he put him through and said he didn’t know what he was doing at the time and he was just defending himself because he loved his life.
Sentencing
“This case, I was hoping y’all would come to some agreements. I know you did try. As far as Mr. Kent, I do feel sorry for him. He didn’t have a chance, but a lot of people don’t have a chance and don’t resort to criminal behavior,” Judge Thompson said.
He referenced a still frame image from previous proceedings that shows Kent with a firearm facing Deloach. He suggested that Kent may have shot aby person, regardless of whether or not they were a police officer. “Do you have a right to self defense when someone points a flashlight at you and tells you to get on the f***ing ground? I don’t know.”
Thompson then went on to explain the limited resources available as alternatives to prison. “The court is not a mental health provider. The court can order a class. A lot of people don’t go.” He also said sometimes there are instances of incapacitation, meaning the purpose is to keep someone out of the community. “The court cannot overlook what happened.”
Ultimately, he sentenced Kent as follows:
- Count 1 — Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer —(sentence range 10-20 years) Ordered to serve 20 years with a mandatory fine of $2,000.
- Count 2 — Entering Auto — (5 years maximum) Order to serve 5 years, consecutive to count 1
- Count 3 — Entering Auto — (5 years maximum) Ordered to serve 5 years concurrent
- Count 4 — Theft by Receiving Stolen Property — (10 years maximum) ordered to serve 5 years concurrent to Count 1.
- Count 5 — Obstruction of an Officer (F) — merged with Count 1
Total sentence is 30 years in prison with 5 on probation.
Thompson said he hoped Kent would use the time to better himself.
Update: In a Press Release received after publication. District Attorney Robert Busbee had the following Statement. “I appreciate Judge Thompson for recognizing the seriousness of this case and delivering a sentence that sends a clear message: violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. I was proud to stand in court for Officer DeLoach, the Statesboro Police Department, and our community.”
Previous Coverage
- GBI Releases Statement in Officer Involved Shooting in Statesboro
- Statesboro Police Release Information on Tuesday’s Officer-Involved Shooting
- Trial Date Set for Man Accused of Shooting Statesboro Police Officer
- Kent Switches Gears, Asks for Trial in 2024 Shooting of Statesboro Police Officer
- Kent Enters Guilty Plea in Shooting of Statesboro PD Officer
