In an almost inconceivable twist in the story involving a man who spent more than two decades behind bars for a crime he says he was not even in town to commit, officers of the court recently discovered missing evidence long sought after by prosecutors and defense attorneys alike.
The recovered evidence relates to the case against Sandeep “Sonny” Bharadia who was arrested by the Thunderbolt Police Department in 2001 for a host of egregious charges, including Aggravated Sodomy, Sexual Battery, Burglary and Theft. TheGeorgiaVirtue.com recently published a lengthy expose on the case, focusing largely on the appointment of the detective at the time, Trey Conners, now working as the Evidence Custodian at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.
In short, various attorneys, including those from The Georgia Innocence Project, have long argued that the case was flawed from the jump and though a jury found Bharadia guilty and a judge sentenced him to prison, appeals for years focused on missing evidence, faulty photo lineups, and untruthful testimony made under oath, among other things. Over the course of appeals, DNA evidence found on gloves believed to be connected to the crime effectively excluded Bharadia as a match.
In 2024, the verdict was overturned in a habeas ruling and a judge ordered the case be sent back to Chatham County for a new trial. In August 2024, a judge set a bond for Bharadia, pending a new trial and he was released shortly thereafter. Ultimately, in May 2025, the District Attorney’s Office filed paperwork to dismiss the case, declining to re-try Bharadia. You can read the detailed case background here.
Missing Evidence Located After 25 Years
In the course of a follow-up to the February story, records obtained under the Open Records Act revealed that the district attorney’s office recently located records previously deemed lost, missing, or otherwise accounted for by the Thunderbolt Police Department.
The evidence was reportedly recovered by an Assistant District Attorney and an Investigator with the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office while at the Thunderbolt Police Department searching for other records.
The public records requested by TheGeorgiaVirtue.com revealed that District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones just recently contacted involved parties, including Bharadia, his attorneys, attorneys for the City of Thunderbolt, and Conners. Conners and the City of Thunderbolt are currently facing a federal lawsuit brought by Bharadia over his prosecution.
The letter provided to TheGeorgiaVirtue.com by the District Attorney’s Office on Monday listed a laundry list of evidence recovered recently, to include:
- Physical evidence – A sealed, untested GBI Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit package (“No markings and sealed, District Attorney’s Evidence Sheet attached notating for Sandeep Bharadia) and a Qtip and Qtip box.
- The original photographic lineup containing Bharadia’s photo
- A typewritten statement dated November 31, 2001 re: circumstances surrounding both photo lineups (signed and dated by her on December 3, 2001)
- A photocopy of the victim’s statement with highlights & Conners’ handwritten notes on back of page re: charges with check marks
- Photocopy of Ashley Dold’s driver’s license
- Victim’s 10-page typewritten statement dated November 18, 2001
- Victim’s 2 page additional typewritten statement – numbering begins on p 10 & labeled “My theory”
- Victim’s medical record from OB/GYN visit on December 6, 2001 & handwritten note to Conners from victim dated December 10, 2001
- DeKalb Public Safety Fax Cover Sheet dated Nov 29, 2001 with 2 page Incident report re: theft of UHaul box trailers; Ofc. Ryals’ request for report re: stolen UHaul recovered
- Thunderbolt PD fax cover sheets, GBI reports, and Evidence Submissions forms
- Dispatch call records for two CRNs: 01110213 at Dogwood, D3 (original CRN) and 011110310 at 2516 Mechanics Ave; GCIC vehicles teletypes re: stolen UHauls and possibly motorcycle
- X2 Polaroid photos of UNK men attached to dispatch call records for original CRN and also CRN 01110307 at 5803 Betty Drive
- Copies of all warrants and affidavits
- Defendant’s letter to victim from jail dated Jan 13, 2002 with handwritten note from victim to Det Conners
- Misc handwritten notes, crime victim’s compensation letter to Chief O’Dwyer, and victim’s vet visit record for a cat
- Det. Conner’s police report (3 pages)
- Thunderbolt PD receipt for property – releasing property back to victim
- 3 x 5 note cards seen in crime scene photos for ID
- Victim’s handwritten letter to Det. Conners dated Dec 3, 2001 regarding two envelopes she sent him:
- photos/negatives she is providing to him & references conversation had about them; and
- the written statement he asked her to prepare about the photo lineups
- Two envelopes one labeled “Det Conners” and the other also handwritten by victim labeled “written statement re lineup 12/3/01 7:45 am” and signed by victim
- Envelope from Defendant Bharadia to victim, postmarked Jan 15, 2002 with handwritten note on outside envelope “Please Read”
- Municipal Court record of first appearance for Sterling Flint
- Warrant record for Sterling Flint dated 1/16/02
- Arrest warrants and affidavits for Sterling Flint
Notably, Thunderbolt is a small municipality within Chatham County, encompassing a mere 2,556 people and 1.56 square miles. The police department building is not elaborate and court documents routinely refer to the evidence room as ‘a closet.’
District Attorney Addresses Parties Regarding Recovered Evidence
In the letter dated March 26, 2026, D.A Jones told the interested parties that Bharadia’s 2003 conviction was ‘effectively vacated’ by the Habeas Order in 2024.
The vast majority of Judge Tate’s 31-page Habeas Order outlined the ineffective assistance of Bharadia’s trial and appellate counsel. However, citing concerns about “newly discovered DNA results” and claims of missing or suppressed evidence, the Court further stated that it was the “cumulative effect” of these factors that mandated the granting of habeas corpus relief.
Following the Habeas Order, Mr. Bharadia was subsequently released on bond pending re-trial. On May 15, 2025, the State moved to dismiss all charges against Mr. Bharadia citing potentially exculpatory DNA evidence and missing evidence as a basis.
Since then, it has come to our attention that certain evidence once thought to be “lost” in the original criminal case and subsequent post-trial proceedings was found last week amongst old files and storage boxes at the Thunderbolt Police Department. The items were discovered by members of the District Attorney’s Office between March 10th and 12th, 2026. A complete list of the items recovered during the search has been attached for your review. As of the date of this letter, the recovered files and evidence are still at the Thunderbolt Police Department in the same condition they were found.
As you will see from the list, some of the items recovered were critical pieces of evidence – the existence and significance of which were disputed at the original trial and on appeal.”
Jones then references the original photographic lineup, a statement prepared by the victim, medical records, and the sexual assault evidence collection kit specifically.
“Upon discovering this evidence, our primary objective was to let all the interested parties know that the “lost” evidence was found and to give everyone a chance to be heard if they so desire. Having now done so, the State has officially re-opened its criminal investigation of the case to see what, if any, criminal charges are appropriate at this time.”
Jones wrote that the interested parties should contact her office, but that the sealed rape kit was going to be forwarded to the GBI crime lab and recovered evidence would be taken into the possession of the DA’s office “for further review and investigation.”
Conners Comments
Following the initial article on Conners serving as the evidence custodian, Conners commented publicly on the article, calling it “fake news.” He said he was “gone” from Thunderbolt PD for over a year when the case went to trial, but he did not address that the evidence was initially supposed to be turned over to prosecutors. He was still at Thunderbolt PD when Bharadia was arrested and later indicted.
Conners wrote that Bharadia’s whereabouts could never be verified, despite multiple alibi witnesses existing and further wrote on social media that Savannah PD made the photo line up, when in his federal lawsuit response he wrote that Thunderbolt PD made the photo line ups.
“He is guilty of the crimes he was convicted for and that is the way it is..in mine and the prosecutor’s opinions based on the evidence,” Conners said. “These unfounded accusations are based on ambulance chasing attorneys who Judge shopped and court shopped until they found a sympathetic judge…Everything I have ever done is [sic] Police work is 1 million percent legitimate.”
Importantly, Bharadia did not ‘judge shop.’ Habeas Corpus petitions are filed in the county where an individual is incarcerated and Bharadia was in a prison located in Gwinnett County.
In addition to serving as the evidence custodian for the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Conners is also a special investigator handling the high profile Walmart parking lot assault case.
This story is still unfolding. TheGeorgiaVirtue.com will continue to bring you updates.
