About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 2022)
4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, August 10,2022 FROM 1A School Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News W'1 1 L 1 m Students climb off of their buses at Black's Mill Elementary School for the Parents walk their children into Black's Mill Elementary School on the first first day of the 2022-23 school year on Friday, Aug. 5. day of the 2022-23 school year on Friday, Aug. 5. Julia Fechter Dawson County News Austin Stryker testifies during his November 2021 trial. In January, his lawyer filed a motion for a new trial.That motion will be heard this October. FROM 1A Guilty the concealing charge and 10 years of probation for the tampering charge to run concurrent with the first count. Donaldson is the wife of Stryker, who was con victed and sentenced last fall for his role in Bender’s killing. Previously, she was accused of allegedly help ing move Bender’s remains to a Blacks Mill Road residence on Sept. 16, 2019, and strip interi or parts from the truck where Bender was mur dered. As part of her condi tions, Donaldson “shall not refuse to testify, but shall testify fully and as to all circumstances of this case and any related matters,” according to the sentencing document. She also may not con tact members of Hannah Bender’s family or defen dants Isaac Thomas Huff, Jerry Harper or Dylan Patrick Reid. No judgment of guilt was entered during her hearing, according to the first offender/conditional discharge portion of the sentencing document. Further proceedings have been deferred, and Donaldson has started her confinement, as evi denced by the Dawson County Sheriff Office’s weekly arrest report. If she were to violate probation, or the court were to determine she was actually ineligible for first offender/conditional status, the court may then enter an adjudication of guilt for Donaldson and proceed to sentence her to the maximum allowable sentence by law. Upon fulfilling the sen tence terms or if she’s released by the court prior to the end of her sentence, Donaldson “shall stand discharged of said offense without court adjudication of guilt and shall be completely exon erated of guilt of said offense charged.” Earlier in July, an October date was also set to discuss Stryker’s motion for a new trial. A motion hearing will take place within Courtroom C of the Dawson County Courthouse on Oct. 25 starting at 2:30 p.m. That motion was filed in January, within 30 days of Stryker’s December sentencing. Motive and murder narrative Co-defendants Isaac Huff, 20, and Dylan Reid, 22, testified about their, Stryker’s and others’ involvement in a small gang called “THIS” dur ing their joint plea and sentencing hearing and Stryker’s trial. Bender was killed dur ing the early morning on Sept. 15, 2019, while rid ing in a Mazda pickup truck with Stryker and Huff. As the truck neared the Sweetwater Juno Road area of Dawson County, Stryker shot Bender in the head with out warning, according to Huff’s testimony. Testimony from Stryker and a GBI medical exam iner who testified at his trial suggested that the gunshot may not have been immediately fatal. After shooting her, Stryker reportedly stabbed Bender at least 32 times. She was later buried in a shallow grave in North Forsyth County, where her remains were found on Sept. 25, 2019. Before Stryker’s trial, prosecutors were success ful in getting evidence introduced describing that Stryker’s motive to kill Bender was tied to his belief that she might go to police about the alleged robbery. During his own testi mony at Stryker’s trial, Huff said that the gang members allegedly com mitted armed robbery at Dollar Generals in Dawsonville and Dahlonega during sum mer 2019. Currently, charges have only been filed in Lumpkin County for the alleged armed robbery there. In April 2021, Huff received a sentence of 12 years in prison and 18 years on probation for his role in covering up Bender’s murder. Reid got 20 years with 15 years on probation for the additional culpability of tampering with evidence. At the conclusion of his November 2021 trial, Stryker was found guilty of killing Bender by shooting and stabbing her and convicted on all 24 of his charges tied to her death. Then in December, he was sen tenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Harper At the end of October, Jerry Harper, 81, pleaded guilty in Dawson County to multiple charges for helping Stryker evade police and approving of Bender’s murder. He admitted to racke teering activity involving a homicide, a violation of Georgia’s street gang law; hindering the appre hension or punishment of a criminal and a connect ed gang violation. Prosecutors agreed to not prosecute Harper on charges of theft of a vehicle and a connected street gang violation. Then in December, Harper was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the racketeering charge and five years for the hin dering count, to be run concurrently with the previous sentence. He received 10 years of pro bation for the other gang violation. This last count will follow the prison time consecutively. In April, Harper was indicted in Forsyth County on one count each of concealing the death of another and tampering with evidence of Bender’s murder. Per that indictment, Harper concealed Bender’s death by bury ing her body and con cealing a Mazda truck to prevent Stryker’s arrest. Details about Harper’s participation were recounted by multiple witnesses and prosecu tors during his sentenc ing and at Stryker’s trial. The lead investigator for Bender’s murder case, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Kristin Perry, recounted that Harper’s statements only had the appearance of initial cooperation, given how his words conflicted with other information and how he initially withheld some details. During interviews, Harper told GBI agents about seeing Bender’s body in the toolbox Stryker had brought over to the property where his camper was. So, Perry said she thought Harper knew more than what he was initially saying. According to other witnesses, Harper saw the bloody Mazda truck where Bender was killed, told Stryker to clean it up and coordinated taking the vehicle to a friend’s property to sell. At that same property, Harper was said to be present while Stryker buried Bender’s remains. “He had no direct knowledge ... yes, it’s horrible for a decent per son to do. He should’ve known better,” said attor ney John Warr of Harper, “but he chose to help them after the fact [of the murder].” This May, Harper pleaded guilty to the two charges and was sen tenced to 10 years on each count, for a collec tive 20 years to be served concurrent with the previous case, according to Forsyth County Superior Court records. Williams Authorities arrested Bailey Diane Williams, 23, in October 2019 and charged her with tamper ing with evidence. She allegedly helped Stryker dispose of Bender’s belongings on Sept. 15, 2019, near a campground off of Nimblewill Gap Road in Lumpkin County. Her tampering case is set for a September trial after it was previously continued. In June 2022, Williams and Huff were accused of being parties to the alleged armed robbery of a Dahlonega Dollar General in which Stryker was also implicated, according to an indict ment. Huff and Williams were allegedly present while Stryker allegedly committed armed robbery at the South Chestatee Street Dollar General on July 7, 2019. DCN will provide updates about the murder and armed robbery cases as more information becomes available. IV Join Us in Support o The Good Shepherd Clin maima Sunday, September 11, 2022 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Vacina Wall t j Fame 452 Highway 53 East Suite 1009 | Dawsonville, GA 30534 cirji To Purchase Tickets call 706.872.2301 or,visit goodshepherddawsonco.org $ * Hosted by The Good Shepherd Clinic
