Following an in-depth investigation by 11Alive into a concerning case, a grand jury has indicted a former Griffin Police Officer. The officer is accused of neglecting to conduct a thorough investigation into a murder case in which his brother was a suspect.
On Thursday, the grand jury charged D’Marquivius “D.J.” King with a felony for violating his oath as a public officer. This indictment emerged three months after 11Alive shed light on the case, which King chose not to comment on when approached.
In 2021, King was assigned to investigate the murder of Javarreis Reid. The indictment claims that King’s brother, Damon Beck, was implicated in the murder. However, King failed to report Beck as a suspect or pursue the investigation with due diligence.
The grand jury made its decision to indict King after hearing his testimony, according to a statement from Griffin Judicial Circuit D.A. Marie Broder. Beck was not arrested until over a year later, in 2023, and was then charged with murder and aggravated assault.
This indictment follows a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) probe into King’s handling of the Reid murder case. In December, it was reported that the district attorney in Griffin planned to present the GBI’s findings to a grand jury.
More details about the case reveal that Reid was found dead in Griffin in the early hours of May 9, 2021, having been shot multiple times. The brutality of the crime was particularly shocking, as noted by Spalding County Coroner Michael Pryor.
At the time of Reid’s murder, King was seen as a promising young officer within the Griffin Police Department. Despite a pre-employment evaluation that raised concerns about his honesty, King was hired in 2017. However, it was later discovered that King had concealed a conflict of interest: his brother was a suspect in the murder he was investigating.
When this information came to light in December, the then-police chief, Michael Yates, contested the claims, stating that King had disclosed the conflict of interest by the time disciplinary actions were considered. Nonetheless, a departmental reprimand from November 2021 accused King of providing false or misleading information.
In September of the previous year, D.A. Marie Broder informed Griffin City Manager Jessica O’Connor that the GBI’s investigation had uncovered policy violations by King and Chief Yates, severely undermining the district attorney’s confidence in their ability to perform their duties effectively.
King, when reached for comment, declined to speak. Yates, on the other hand, denied any wrongdoing, attributing the issues to poor case management and documentation.
Yates retired in April 2023, under the condition that his departure be classified solely as retirement, denying any resignation under investigation or other circumstances.
The prolonged investigation into King’s actions has delayed closure for Reid’s friends and family, highlighting the complexities and challenges in achieving justice in this tragic case.