The man accused of a weekend shooting reported for his initial appearance yesterday morning.
Dallas Clark, a 29-year-old from Twin City, sat before The Honorable Judge Robert S. Reeves on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 and heard the charges being brought against him. Currently, the defendant is facing four counts of aggravated assault, one count malice murder, one count felony murder, and one count possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The issue of bond was not considered in court; Judge Reeves called it “too soon” in the case for either the prosecution, represented by District Attorney Tripp Fitzner and Assistant District Attorney McKenzie Gray, or the defense, public defender Brandi Payne, to address a bond.
Those seven charges stem from an incident that took place downtown at 229 South Main Street, otherwise known as Bird’s Sports Bar and Lounge, in the early hours of Saturday, July 3, 2021. Around 2 a.m., 911 received a call about gun shots at the location. Reportedly, several people were injured.
Law enforcement arrived to find four victims.
One of those individuals, 30-year-old Jamichael Kirkland, was already deceased.
Three others—25-year-old Jasmin Crawford of Statesboro, 20-year-old Taniya Adams of Swainsboro, and 34-year-old Cordaro Kirkland of Swainsboro—were injured due to gun shot wounds, transported to Emanuel Medical Center, and moved to Augusta University Medical Center.
Crawford and Adams were later released. As of Monday evening, Kirkland remained in stable condition.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at the request of Swainsboro Police Department, was called later that morning, around 3:59 a.m., to assist with the investigation. (Emanuel County Sheriff’s Office also responded and worked the scene.)
Clark surrendered himself to a Twin City police officer around 5 a.m. and booked into Emanuel County Jail. According to the GBI, initial interviews indicated the shooting occurred after an altercation at the lounge.
Kirkland’s body, the GBI adds, will be transported to the state agency’s crime lab for autopsy.
Anyone with information about this active, ongoing investigation should contact Swainsboro Police Department at 478-237-8967 or the GBI’s Eastman field office at 478-374-6988.
Tips can also be submitted by phone at 800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or on the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
The case will now be binded over to the grand jury. If ready in time, the next grand jury could indict it (or not) when it next meets later this month.
Because the previous murder case, a rolling shooting that took place in December on U.S. 1 Bypass, was assigned to The Honorable Judge Tommy Smith, Clark’s case will most likely be assigned to Judge Reeves.
Look for updates in future editions of The Crossroads Chronicle.
