A trial date has been set for the man accused of shooting a Statesboro Police Officer in 2024.
Anthony DeJarion Kent is facing five felony charges related to an incident that culminated in an exchange of gunfire with a Statesboro Police Officer in April 2024. This week, attorneys selected a jury for the case and Superior Court Judge Ronald Thompson scheduled the trial for March 4.
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 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 has been held in the Bulloch County Jail awaiting further court action.
Defense Wants Body Worn Camera Excluded from Evidence
Represented by the Public Defender’s Office, Kent’s attorneys filed motions in December to exclude portions of the body worn camera of officers at the scene during trial. Specifically, attorneys argued that the video would be “irrelevant, highly inflammatory, and more prejudicial than probative,” citing Georgia Supreme Court cases ruling that there is sometimes a danger in admitting unedited police videos at trial.
From the motion:
“[T]he Defendant anticipates that the State will offer into evidence of officer worn body camera footage that will show the alleged victim in this matter, Statesboro Police Officer Joey Deloach, attempting to apply a tourniquet to the apparent gunshot wound. As he is attempting to apply the tourniquet, the body camera footage shows an incredible amount of blood spewing out from Officer Joey Deloach’s leg. The footage shows Officer Deloach in distress and in a very emotional state. Such footage also shows other responding officers attempting to provide medical attention to the alleged victim after he is shot and that is very emotional and highly inflammatory.”
In response, prosecutors argued that the videos should be admitted in their entirety, for a number of reasons, including the state’s need to prove elements of the crime, which include ‘serious bodily injury’ with a deadly weapon. “Any prejudice to Kent present from blood being visible is far outweighed by the probative value of proving the aspects of a deadly weapon being used and the serious bodily injury occurring from the use of that weapon,” the state wrote in its opposition to the defense motion.
The state also argues that the video is necessary in its entirety because Kent denies that he shot Officer Deloach, but the video, they say, contradicts that.
“It would be improper to limit the evidence here simply because the emotional response likely when seeing this conduct is unfavorable to Kent,” the state said. “Prejudice is not “unfair” simply because it tends to inculpate the defendant in an awful crime.”
If convicted, Kent faces a maximum of 45 years in prison – 10-20 years for Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer, 1-5 years for each count of Entering an Automobile, 1-10 years for the Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, and 1-5 years for the Obstruction charge.
District Attorney Robert Busbee and Assistant District Attorney John B. Edwards Jr. are prosecuting the case.
Other Pending Felony Charges
On February 3, 2025, a Bulloch County grand jury indicted Kent and another individual, Christopher Farley Bernadeau, for Unlawful Acts of Violence in a Penal Institution and Obstruction of an Officer. According to the indictment, Bernadeau and Kent, both county inmates,pushed a jailer in December of 2024.
