SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a man found dead weeks after he was hit in a police chase became emotional in court as a detective revealed gruesome details about the case.
A landscaper discovered the man's body near the scene five weeks after the police chase.
Police found a shoe at the scene that they thought belonged to Emmitt Daniels, 19, the suspect they were chasing. Investigators thought he ran out of his shoe trying to run away from them.
That shoe actually belonged to Marcus McCrary, a pedestrian who was hit when police executed a PIT maneuver to stop Daniels on Flat Shoals Road on Dec. 4., sending McCrary into the bushes as he was walking by.
Channel 2's Tom Jones was in court Tuesday as an undercover city of South Fulton police officer testified that his fellow officers had no idea McCrary had been hit during the police chase.
“Nobody said they observed a pedestrian or anything out of place,” the officer said.
The officer said they even asked Daniels if he saw anyone.
“Mr. Daniels replied back no, pretty much no. I was just focused on what was ahead of me,” the officer said.
Officers chased Daniels at speeds up to 90 mph. They then used a PIT maneuver to spin the stolen car out of control. The car crashed into a utility pole.
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Officers say Daniels ran away. They had no idea McCrary had been hit until a landscaper found his body in the bushes more than a month later.
But there was a clue there.
“They did observe a boot or a shoe at the crash site,” the officer said.
Officers checked the stolen car that was still in impound, and that's when they located McCrary's body part.
“In the front driver's wheel well,” the officer said.
Jones said that news sent McCrary's family into tears and soon after sent them dashing out of court.
Prosecutors have now charged Daniels with felony murder.
Daniels' attorney said the officer created the danger by performing the PIT maneuver.
"And that is the reason why someone is dead and not because of Mr. Daniels," public defender
Miranda Jernigan said.
Prosecutors said this is felony murder because Daniels was driving so fast, attempting to elude police and creating a danger that led to a death.
The judge found probable cause to move the case forward on felony murder, aggravated assault on a police officer and other charges.
Cox Media Group
