Judge, attorneys set dates for two murder trials

Attorneys working with Muscogee Superior Court Judge William Rumer set a schedule Friday for two upcoming murder trials.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Batson Cooley and defense attorney Stacey Jackson set tentative trial dates for defendants Jerome Chatmon and Devonte Shepard, who are charged in separate cases.

The attorneys decided on a pretrial hearing at 9 a.m. Nov. 25 for Chatmon, with the trial to begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 8.

For Shepard, they scheduled a pretrial hearing for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 30, with a possible trial date of Nov. 2. Should that be delayed, the trial will be set for Feb. 8, 2016, they said.

Both trials would be in Rumer's courtroom on the Columbus Government Center's 10th floor.

Chatmon's case

Chatmon is accused of fatally shooting 27-year-old Markeese Hodge at the Cross Keys Apartment complex on Aug. 6, 2014.

Police said Chatmon, then 23, was checking guests for weapons as they entered a party at the 3815 Baker Plaza Drive apartments, when Hodge refused to be patted down. Chatmon, Hodge and another guest went out to the parking lot, where gunfire erupted.

Hodge was hit three times: in the right side of his chest, his right forearm and his groin, investigators said. They said the shooting happened at 4:39 a.m., and Hodge died around 9 a.m.

Shepard's case

Shepard, who was 19 at the time, is accused of fatally shooting Terry Hargett, 25, on March 31, 2013.

At 12:45 p.m. that Sunday, Hargett was found slumped across the front seats of his 2001 Nissan Maxima at Old Cusseta Road and Antietam Drive, where passersby noticed a bullet hole in the driver's side window.

Medics called to scene found Hargett had a faint pulse and rushed him to Midtown Medical Center, where for 30 minutes emergency room workers tried to revive him, authorities said. A physician there pronounced him dead at 1:48 p.m.

"He had numerous gunshot wounds," Deputy Coroner Charles Newton said afterward.

Police said they arrested Shepard after finding he and Hargett had been exchanging text messages that day.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Judge, attorneys set dates for two murder trials ."