Atlanta PhD student mistaken for road rage shooting suspect released after 30 days in jail

ATLANTA — Sitting in the Fulton County Jail for 30 days was life-changing for a Clark Atlanta PhD student.

Last November, Ladavious McNair was accused of shooting a man during a road rage incident near his university. But he was in class at the time of the shooting and was shocked when police arrested him.

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“I said, man, is this really about to happen?” McNair recalled.

The shooting victim gave police a description of the shooter and the car right after he was shot. Police saw surveillance video of McNair’s car near the scene and thought McNair matched the description, so they named him as a possible suspect.

McNair’s professor and several students said he couldn’t have been the shooter because he was in class.

Nearly a year later the case was still unsolved and the victim saw McNair on Facebook, recognized his name from the police report, and told police he was the shooter... until he saw McNair’s mugshot.

“The victim contacted my office after the first story of Ladavious McNair aired and said to my staff, ‘That’s not the guy and I’ve been telling the detective that not the guy,’” McNair’s attorney Marsha Mignott said.

The District Attorney’s Office still indicted McNair and he sat in jail for 30 days.

Once the judge saw and heard all of the evidence during a hearing for a speedy trial, the charges were dropped.

McNair said there are more innocent people in the Fulton County Jail - some waiting years just for a court date.

He now wants to help them.

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