By filing murder charges against everyone who participated in Friday’s deadly fight in Hephzibah, Sheriff Richard Roundtree said he is sending a strong message to the community.
“This will not be tolerated,” he said. “Every person that was actively involved in this incident is going to be charged with felony murder. … We have got to say that this is not acceptable.”
The sheriff consulted with District Attorney Ashley Wight and told her he wanted to pursue murder charges against everyone who gathered for Friday’s street fight on Chaps Lane. That fight ended with the stabbing death of 18-year-old Demajhay Bell.
“I think this is the decision of a senseless murder. I abhor all murders, but this murder was certainly avoidable,” he said.
What really bothered the sheriff was that some parents drove their teenage children to the fight to participate. “That says that something is wrong in our society and our culture,” he said.
The disagreement that led to the fight started over two girls and a boy, escalating to the point officials at Glenn Hills High School got involved. It was handled through a school tribunal hearing. Sheriff Roundtree said the matter should have ended there. Instead, it escalated into something that drew more than 30 people to Chaps Lane, armed with metal baseball bats, knives and pipes.
And there were parents who drive them there. “There had to be a conversation on the way over there. I just wonder what that conversation was,” he said.
So far, eight of 10 people being sought on murder charges have been arrested. Sheriff Roundtree said the reaction from those who participated in the fight and are now charged in Bell’s death was varied.
“It varied from tears, to people falling out, to silence. Stares on the face. That is the reality. I think the real reality would have been the day they got booked into the jail and the cell closing for the first time and you are in there as a violent inmate,” he said.
The three-minute video recorded by a witness was a big help, the sheriff said.
“The video was turned over to us by a witness. The video was helpful in that it contradicted what people were saying. Many people minimized their role. They said they came to break up the fight, but it showed that they came to participate,” he said.
The sheriff said he is amazed a gun was not produced. Had there been a gun, the story could have been worse.
“That could have been a national news story,” he said.
Previous Story:
10 Charged with Murder in Deadly Hephzibah Fight
Video of street fight and murder is available by clicking here: https://youtu.be/dkDyM7nKvH4 . Warning: Some of the video is disturbing.
