On August 14, 2025, law enforcement officers in Lee County, Alabama arrested a Georgia woman who, according to police, shot her husband earlier that week in Georgia.
A warrant charges her with attempted murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and aggravated stalking. She was booked into the Lee County Jail on a fugitive for justice warrant. She is being held pending extradition to Georgia.
Troup County Sheriff’s officials said she was previously arrested last month on a charge of aggravated assault/family violence. The shooting happened shortly before 8 a.m. Monday on Chipley Mountville Road in Troup County.
Deputies arrived to find a 47-year-old man unresponsive and bleeding from the head. He remains in critical condition at an Atlanta hospital.
The Arrest Warrant Process
Investigators must have probable cause to obtain arrest warrants. As anyone who’s ever seen a TV cop or detective show knows, probable cause is basically motive, means, and opportunity. A homicide is a good illustration. In these cases, police investigators often immediately suspect domestic violence.
- A motive is a terrible relationship with a spouse or family member, or a bad relationship along with a bad temper. One or more witnesses establish motive. Other evidence, such as social media posts or likes, could also establish motive.
- Means is ownership of a gun or other murder weapon, or access to the murder weapon. If Micheal owned a handgun, that’s much better evidence of means than Michael’s friendship with a gun collector down the street (access to a firearm). More on that below.
- Similarly, opportunity is a shared residence with the alleged victim or access to the scene of the crime (e.g. a key to the house), along with no alibi for the time of the offense. If the suspect refuses to provide an alibi, investigators assume the suspect doesn’t have an alibi. Investigators never give criminal suspects the benefit of the doubt.
Once a judge issues an arrest warrant, that warrant is valid until served. An arrest warrant tolls (pauses) the statute of limitations.
We routinely handle cases involving FTA (failure to appear) and other arrest warrants that are at least five years old. When a judge issues a warrant, a clerk records that warrant into the NCIS (National Crime Information System) database. Then, when the defendant has any contact with a state agent (e.g. a police officer) or agency (e.g. the DMV), the warrant pops up, and the defendant goes directly to jail without passing Go or collecting $200.
A Marietta criminal defense lawyer should advocate for suspects during both phases of the arrest warrant process.
Lawyers run interference with investigators during the motive/means/opportunity process. As a bonus, many investigators think twice about pursuing suspects who already have lawyers. If officials obtain warrants, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer defuses these bombs before they go off.
The Criminal Law Process
In the aforementioned TV shows, once the cops “get their man,” the credits roll, implying that’s the end of the matter. True, an arrest ends the probable cause process. But it’s only the beginning of the trial process, and a trial is what really matters.
Bail begins the trial process. Immediate jail release gives a Marietta criminal defense lawyer the chance to develop one or more defenses. Defendants who remain behind bars usually take the first plea bargain offer and forfeit their day in court.
During the trial process, which usually includes at least one pretrial hearing, there are basically three ways a Marietta criminal defense lawyer prevents probable cause from mushrooming into proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Procedural Defense
Rukes violations during the investigation process usually prompt a judge to throw the case out of court before considering the evidence.
The Fourth Amendment usually requires officers to obtain search warrants before they look for weapons or other physical evidence. Search warrants, like arrest warrants, must be based on probable cause. The same motive, means and opportunity analysis usually applies.
A few search warrant requirement exceptions, such as owner consent, apply in a few limited situations.
The Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to remain silent. “Silence” includes physical silence as well as verbal silence. Police officers cannot force suspects to pose for pictures or appear in lineups.
Note that under current law, unless suspects clearly assert their Fifth Amendment rights (“take the Fifth”), they waive those rights.
Thematic Substantive Defense
A Marietta criminal defense lawyer can also erode the state’s evidence in such a way that it creates a reasonable alternative explanation.
Some people may recall the Casey Anthony saga. The state charged Casey with killing her young daughter. At trial, her lawyer eroded some of the state’s evidence, specifically the evidence that the child had been murdered. Additionally, her lawyer advanced a different theory that fit the facts, to wit, after the girl accidentally drowned in a pool, the family panicked and hid her body.
Sometimes, simply eroding the evidence is enough. The O.J Simpson saga is a good example. Defense lawyers successfully portrayed the lead police investigator as a racist who may have been biased against Simpson.
Affirmative Defense
Common affirmative defenses in Cobb County violent criminal cases include coercion and self-defense.
Coercion is especially common in gang-related crimes. Basically, coercion is extreme pressure which forces a defendant to do something s/he wouldn’t ordinarily do. Self-defense, in Georgia, is a proportional response to an immediate threat.
Reasonableness is at the core of both these defenses. A gang leader might be unable to harm a family member, but the defendant might reasonably believe the threat is legitimate. Likewise, if Jason Momoa charged me, I might reasonably believe I needed a weapon to defend myself, even if Jason was unarmed.
Affirmative defenses are the last line of defense in most cases. The defendant must essentially admit guilt and hope the judge or jury buys the defense. That’s a risky play.
To obtain a conviction, everything must go right for the state through the long criminal justice process. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense attorney, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. We routinely handle matters in Cobb County and nearby jurisdictions.
