Let me first say that I have shot archery sinceI was 3 years old, and I shoot archery as a sport. I understand
that when one thinks of shooting archery, you usually
think of a long bow or a compound bow...but archery
may also involve shooting a crossbow. I have plenty of
pictures of me shooting bows (some on this blog) and I
have won more trophies than would fit on the selves
in most homes. But this case involves a crossbow
and a bogus story about what I did with it.
This crossbow was not a "weapon" for me, but a hobby.
I had not hunted in over 10 years. I was saluted by
The City of Atlanta as an
Outstanding Athlete and Champion
in Archery when I was 10 years old. When I was
16 I shot in a four day field range shoot and I came
18 points from the Cub World Record. I also earned
the archery merit badge as a Boy Scout where I
was a Life Scout with 22 merit badges. I was also
a member of the Order of the Arrow in Scouting.
This is Joey, he was my stepson before I got divorced, andwe loved to shoot the crossbow...which actually belonged
to him...I got it for him as a gift. Notice how we had
flat worn out the first target!
These are pictures of my crossbow that I took for evidence inmy case. An unbalanced female named Jackie Wagner filed
a fake crime report stating nothing but fabricated information four
days after the incident. The picture at the top is of the hand
made indian arrows (artifacts not designed to be shot, especially
in a crossbow--they are 30 inces long) that
this nut case claimed I had loaded onto
my crossbow after "cocking it".
I filed a report the same day and it was never
I filed a report the same day and it was never
investigated. In fact the only witnes in my case, Drew Mayo, was
never interview by investigators.
One of the crimes that was alleged was that I came
into my bedroom "with a smile on my face" and for no reason
whatsoever I picked up my crossbow and cocked it and loaded it
and then pointed it at her.
This nutcase actually claimed that I loaded a hand made Indian
arrow (top picture) onto this crossbow (that I supposedly got
from my bow rack on my wall), when, in fact, this arrow
that she discribed would not work. Yet there are 6 arrows (which
are actually called "bolts") right there on the crossbow.
A couple of weeks after the incident (and about a week after I was
falsely arrested) I notice a thick layer of dust that had accumulated
on the shaft of the crossbow. I contacted my attorney, Jeff Rusbridge,
and told him about this dust and how this dust was proof that this
croosbow had not been cocked, and if it had not been cocked it could
not have been loaded.
An expert witness, Wade Pittman, owner of W.D. Archery,
An expert witness, Wade Pittman, owner of W.D. Archery,
came out to my home, along with Mr. Rusbridge, and observed the state
of this crossbow. He stated that with absolute certainty he could say that
this croosbow had not been cocked in a long period of time. The fact is this
dust had accumulated on the waxed shaft for over 2 1/2 years.
About two months later Detective Preston Peavy and others
came out to my home to collect this "evidence". I attempted to point
this exculpetory evidence out to him but the crossbow was ripped from
my hands before I could get started presenting this powerful and
important exculpetory evidence.
Mr. Rusbridge contacted "Evidence Control"
Mr. Rusbridge contacted "Evidence Control"
and told the to preserve this evidence as it was critical to my
case and, since other evidence had been ignored, altered
or lost by the State, this evidence was now critical to prove my innocence.
My misdemeanor charge of simple assault was upgraded
to aggravated assault because tainted evidence was presented to
a Grand Jury by Mr. Peavy.
I went to trial on my charges in 2002 and
I went to trial on my charges in 2002 and
when my crossbow was brought into trial I notice it had been
cleaned off!! I pointed this out to my attorney, Jeff Rusbridge, and
this trial ended with alleged "Felony Tampering with Evidence", but
nothing was done to look into this crime by an Officer of the
State and by a member of the Cherokee County Sheriff's department
in Canton, Ga. Jeff Rusbridge became a witness in for my case.
Can you imagine the stress of being falsely arrested and then
Can you imagine the stress of being falsely arrested and then
fasley indicted for Felony Aggravated Assault based solely on
tainted evidence presented to the Grand Jury?
And then after one trial ended with Felony Tampering with Evidence
and then the dismissal of all charges, to be hit hit with yet
another false indictment?
This was just the beginning of a long nightmare for me and my
family. I fought hard for years and after several more trial
dates and no trial, my charges were finally dismissed by the State
on November 23, 2005 by Judge Harris. But I did not recieve the
Order before my talented and patriotic mother had died
under the duress of this insanity.
I continued to stand up for my rights and to battle this case in the courts
and on August 20, 2010 I was GRANTED an Order to have
my arrest ,and all fingerprints, booking photos, and
everything related to this case, expunged from the record.
The documents for expungement have been signed
off in the solicitor’s office by District Attorney Garry T. Moss and
by Karen Kelly/T.A.C. with the G.C.I.C./N.C.I.C. Services
of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department and
forwarded on to Georgia Information Crime Center/Expungements.
But...I'm not done yet and the battle has just begun! I hope to
have my right under the U.S. Constitution and
according to the law upheld and have my
case heard by a impartial jury of my peers.
