ATLANTA — A Clark Atlanta University student who was wrongly accused of shooting another driver in a road rage incident appeared before a judge Thursday, nearly a year after the shooting.
Ladavious McNair, a CAU doctoral student, was falsely accused of shooting another driver in the leg during a 2023 road rage incident. He said he is ready to hear if a judge will issue an arrest warrant for the detective who arrested him.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was at the court, where the warrant application hearing finished.
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The proceedings, essentially a mini-trial, has both sides of the case call witnesses and deliver closing arguments.
After that, it’s up to the judge to decide if there’s enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant.
The judge said she needs more time before she can make her decision, which will come after she considers more than two hours of testimony and evidence.
McNair and his fiance were in the courtroom Thursday afternoon, where they listened to Atlanta Police Department Detective Abdul Mustapha, who arrested and charged McNair in October.
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Mustapha accused McNair of shooting and injuring another driver during a 2023 road rage incident near the Atlanta University Center. McNair was eventually indicted but last month, prosecutors dropped the charges against him after the victim told police and prosecutors that they had the wrong guy.
Since then, McNair’s attorney, Marsha Mignott, has been trying to get justice for her client after she accused the detective of committing perjury by lying to a judge to get an arrest affidavit.
McNair’s legal team said that Mustapha knowingly pursued him as a suspect, despite evidence and victim statements that indicated another person may be responsible.
“Remember, our office got contacted by the alleged victim. Thank God he has a conscience because if he didn’t have a conscience, he could’ve easily used Detective Mustapha to complete finishing off an innocent man,” Mignott said. “The DA’s office had absolutely no problem with Detective Mustapha or his investigation or they wouldn’t have brought the charges if they felt this way, so we ask that ou dismiss this care, your Honor.”
The lawyer for Mustapha declined to comment on Thursday’s hearing and it’s unclear when the judge will make her ruling. With the holidays right around the corner, the decision is expected to come in early January.
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