Gwinnett County

Inmate who served time with former officer accused of killing 16-year-old gives chilling testimony

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — An inmate who was jailed with a former Doraville Police Office accused of killing a 16-year-old Gwinnett County girl took the stand Friday, giving chilling testimony.

Miles Bryant, a former Doraville police officer, is on trial for the kidnapping and murder of Susana Morales, who vanished as she walked home from a friend’s apartment in Norcross in 2022. Seven months later, her bones were found in a wooded area near Bryant’s gun, which he claimed had been stolen. Bryant had also served as a security guard at the apartment complex where Morales vanished.

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Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco was in the courtroom Friday, where inmate Michael Jones testified that he was in jail with Bryant and they had numerous conversations about the case.

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Jones said he served nine months with Bryant at the Gwinnett County Jail and they often spoke about the murder, in particular after Bryant was given evidence that would be used in the case.

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“He said, ‘Well, I’m not going to get charged for this. They ain’t got nothin’ against me. It says right here, plain, there’s no blood, no semen, no nothing,’” Jones said.

Prosecutors pointed out a specific conversation where Bryant talked about the death penalty.

“He said, ‘Man, somebody could get the death penalty for something like this.’ I said, ‘Nah, you gotta do something more brutal than that.’ He said, ‘Well, so far, they only got me charged with this one. So far, I’m only charged with one,’” Jones said.

Bryant’s defense attorney questioned the Jones’ credibility, saying that these conversations happened with other people nearby. Jones confirmed that he was able to talk to other inmates through the door.

The jury also heard from a childhood friend of Bryant’s, who had him saved in her phone as “Miles the Stalker.”

Security cameras caught Bryant outside of Elasha Bates’ apartment repeatedly, even jiggling the handle of her door.

Bates said he was not invited.

Bates said she became suspicious of Bryant in 2022 when he was visiting her home.

“When he asked to use my bathroom, I opened my door because it connects. I felt like he was going to go in there, sure enough, he didn’t even use the bathroom, he opened the room door, starts to go in my room, looks around the closet,” she said. “He was pushing around on the walls, making sure it was sturdy. Like the door, he was pushing on it to see how strong it was.”

She said that after that, she grabbed a knife and kept it under her leg while he was in the house.

After emotional day in court, testimony continues in trial of ex-officer accused of murdering teen



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