ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - The estate of a 10-year-old boy shot and killed allegedly by a man who had been released while facing charges blames the monitoring system that was supposed to keep tabs on him.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed Feb. 14 against Sentinel Offender Services by the estate of Damarion Byrd, Chester Byrd as the duly anticipated administrator and next of kin, and Chester Byrd individually. The case was initially filed in Gwinnett County Superior Court, and the defendant has since removed it to Atlanta federal court.
Byrd was 10 years old on March 6, 2023, when he was shot and killed while in bed. Among those arrested were Rodracious Demaris Stephens.
Stephens was a pre-trial release who was movements were supposedly being monitored by Sentinel, which had signed a contract in 2019 with Baldwin County to provide those services.
The suit says Sentinel failed to meet the statutory requirements, which led to Stephens murdering Byrd. Stephens had committed more than 60 crimes over 23 years, the suit says, but he was released Sept. 28, 2022.
"Over the course of the months that following Sentinel's engagement of monitoring Stephens, it became clear that Sentinel's device had communication issues under Sentinel's control, supervision and service," the suit says.
"During that time, Sentinel knew or should have known that Stephens could cause harm to persons, including Damarion Byrd, given the various communication issues under Sentinel's control, supervision and service."
He was even able to procure a gun because of those failures, the suit claims. It adds Stephens had to travel "a meaningful distance" to Byrd's residence in Milledgeville.
He and others allegedly shot more than 15 bullet's into Byrd's home, striking him in the chest while he slept.
Brandon Smith of Corners represents the plaintiffs.