Newspaper Page Text
January 19, 2022
Page 7A
tReporter
FATALITY
Continued from 1A
situations and said the sheriff’s office has a
persistent and widespread practice of such
holds. Along with Freeman and Hardesty,
the suit also lists deputy Wade Kendrick
and jailers Torey Evans and Ventrall Gray
er as defendants. The suit doesn’t specify its
request for monetary damages but asks for
at least $19,000 to cover Marshall’s $5,681
in medical expenses ($1,271 from Monroe
County Hospital and $4,410 from Emer
gency Physicians of Forsyth) plus $13,846
for his burial and grave marker.
The family is represented by attorney D.
James Jordan of the Macon firm of Adams,
Jordan and Herrington.
It was Mark Marshall who called 911
around 7:55 p.m. that night to say his son,
Josh Marshall, 40, was chasing him up the
driveway of their Pioneer Trail home wear
ing a pocket knife around his neck. The
father said his son has schizophrenia.
Deputies Wade Kendrick and Larry
Sullivan arrived and Kendrick drew his
weapon and ordered the son to go to his
knees with his hands on his head. Marshall
complied and was handcuffed and put into
the patrol car.
Mark Marshall told Kendrick that he
and his son were watching TV when Josh
stood up, started beating his chest and
made nonsensical comments about being
black. Mark Marshall said his son then
struck him in the face, nearly knocking
him out of his chair.
Mark Marshall said he got up to get away
from his son, who began chasing him to
try to hit him again. Mark Marshall said
he was able to get his phone and keys on
the way out of the home, and that his son
struck him several more times outside
before he was able to get away. He said he
was only able to get away because his son’s
schizophrenia medication had made him
gain weight to the point that the 5-foot-8
Josh Marshall was now listed as 300 lbs.
Mark Marshall said he called 911 and
hid in the woods until deputies arrived.
Kendrick noted that the left side of Mark
Marshall’s face was red and swollen from
the assault. Mark Marshall gave deputies
a bag of medications to take with Josh to
the jail. Kendrick said the medicines were
given to jail staff and Josh was put into
holding cell 221.
But at 10:53 p.m., about three hours
after the original call, the 911 operator
told Kendrick there was a fight in the jail.
Kendrick returned to the jail and found
Josh Marshall on the ground unresponsive
in the booking area as jail staff attempted
CPR on him.
A city pohce report by officer Kevin
Powell said he arrived a minute earlier
and saw jailer Rustin Hardesty and other
staff bracing an unresponsive Marshall in
a seated position. Hardesty asked Powell
what he should do and Powell advised they
check for a pulse. Hardesty checked Josh
Marshall’s neck and said he felt a pulse as
Monroe County EMS was dispatched to
the jail. But Powell said he noticed Mar
shall’s lips were blue and told Hardesty to
check his pulse again. This time Hardesty
said he couldn’t get a pulse.
Deputies took Marshall’s handcuffs off,
laid him flat on his back and Hardesty
started chest compressions as Powell urged
EMS to hurry.
When EMS arrived they took Marshall
to Monroe County Hospital but it was too
late. Coroner Joey Proctor said a doctor
at the hospital pronounced Marshall dead
before he arrived.
Sheriff Freeman said the three jail
ers were injured in the fight that led to
Marshall’s death, including one who went
to the hospital for a head injury. Free
man said once the case is closed he would
release jail video of the altercation. The
episode was so traumatic that all three
jailers voluntarily left the sheriff’s office for
other jobs.
Freeman called in the GBI to investigate.
Kendrick’s report said after Marshall’s
death, he and deputy Sullivan and chaplain
Ed Wilson returned to 535 Pioneer Trail
to tell Mark Marshall about his son’s death.
Marshall asked them to go with him to
inform his son’s mother at her home on
Dogwood Trail.
LAWS
Continued from 1A
• Kitchens shall not be used for
sleeping.
Wilson had crossed out some
of the rules in the proposal. But
Emami proposed passing the
original version and amending it
later.
“Why are we gonna pick and
choose what we want to enforce?”
said Emami before the vote. “I’m
done playing around with it.
We’ve had hearings on it. At some
point our code enforcement
officer has to have the ability
to call somebody’s bluff. We’ve
belabored this thing to the end of
the earth.”
Commissioner John Ambrose
said he’s concerned that if the
county picks and chooses which
parts it enforces, any cases that
Wilson makes against homeown
ers might be thrown out in court.
County attorney Ben Vaughn
said if there are parts the county
doesn’t plan to enforce, it should
leave them out.
But Emami said it is time for
action.
“We’ve talked about it,” said
Emami. “People are gonna be
grumpy about a new law. People
who pay taxes in High Falls need
us to enforce our laws. We have
no teeth if we don’t. We have laws
and if we are not willing to en
force them when they defy them
in our face, then who are we?”
Emami said too many residents
keep run-down properties and
the county should do something.
“We have told a number of
people they’re out of compliance,”
said Emami. “And they don’t
care. It’s the extreme version of
‘I’ll do what I want to do. I don’t
care about my neighbors if there’s
poop running out and sliding
down the street. At some point
if we don’t do our job, we lose all
credibility. I’d rather have a few
extra rules. I just say let’s start
now.”
Commissioners approved Ema-
mi’s motion 4-1 to impose the
entire 32-page document without
Wilson’s deletions. But commis
sioner Eddie Rowland said he
couldn’t support it. Emami asked
why.
“Because I’m breaking the
law now at 349 Rumble Road,”
laughed Rowland.
“Well send Jeff (Wilson) over
there,” joked one commissioner.
“Come find out!” replied Row
land to laughter.
But Emami said he wanted
the approval to be unanimous
because “I need some cover fire
here”. He asked Rowland what it
would take to get his vote.
“This is a huge document,” said
Rowland. “I haven’t read enough
of it to know. All of Rumble Road
probably has some things that
would be in there. Inoperable
vehicle — most of us have one. I
still have my 1984 Mazda I took
to UGA and I really don’t want to
get rid of it. Give me a couple of
weeks and let me read through it.
I haven’t been through it com
pletely yet. Let me talk with Jeff
(Wilson) and the sheriff. We will
never get this ordinance going
my way I’m sure. But I have to get
a comfort zone.”
Ambrose said he doesn’t want
to wait another six months to
finalize the new law because if
you do that you might as well not
have a code enforcement officer.
Emami agreed.
“If you can laugh in my face,
you can’t have civilization like
that,” he said. “We have to be able
to enforce our laws.”
Emami’s motion to rescind the
ordinance passed 5-0 and com
missioners vowed to return to the
issue at its Feb. 15 meeting.
Sheriff Brad Freeman said he
agrees commissioners should do
something to keep the county’s
growth under control, but said
rules must be enforced with com
mon sense.
“If no one can see your junk
car from the street,” said Free
man, “we’re not gonna fly over
your property and look for this
stuff. But if you have 15 junk cars,
someone might complain and we
might have to deal with it.”
Meanwhile, commissioners
voted 4-1 on Tuesday to extend
their moratorium on new subdi
visions in the county until May
1. Only chairman Greg Tapley
opposed. Commissioners want
the moratorium in place while
they consider a new 300-page or
dinance regulating subdivisions.
The new ordinance is available on
the county’s Planning & Zoning
webpage: https://www.momo-
ecoga.org/department/pz /
Ambrose noted that the mora
torium could be ended prior to
May 1 should the updated P&Z
Ordinance be completed and
adopted sooner than May 1.
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