Last year around this time, as Ladavious McNair was probably recovering from celebrating an HBCU homecoming or preparing for his exams, the student was suddenly named the suspect in a horrifying road rage incident.
Only now have prosecutors dropped the charges and the reason why will make you SMH.
The 32-year-old Clark Atlanta University Ph. D. student was identified as the perpetrator in a November 2023 incident. Authorities said an accident occurred on the intersection of Metropolitan Parkway and Ralph David Abernathy Blvd, per FOX 5 Atlanta.
The victim claimed McNair pistol-whipped him, shot him in the knee and sped off from the scene. Atlanta police also said the Flock surveillance cameras identified McNair’s car in the area around the time of the crash.
Last week, McNair was arrested and indicted on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. In his 30 days away from the college campus and inside the dwellings of Fulton County Jail, he’d maintained his stance that he did nothing wrong.
He, along with his fraternity brothers and family, protested the charges, insisting McNair’s character didn’t even match the crime he was accused of committing. They claimed he was headed to class during the incident.
“I’ve experienced a lot of trauma in this. Experienced things no one should have to experience. No one should have to deal with these things. As a veteran, I served my country and community, and I felt in this moment that my community turned their back and my country turned their back,” McNair said to FOX.
It wasn’t until Friday the Fulton County District Attorney’s office decided to drop his charges.
“The state no longer believes that it can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt due to the change in the victim’s certainty of his identification of the defendant as the shooter,” prosecutors wrote in a motion, per court records.
A county judge called the case “egregious” and slammed prosecutors for allegedly holding onto evidence that proved McNair’s innocence for the past year, the report says. After the case was finally dropped, McNair only had words of relief and a bit of frustration.
“I’ve experienced a lot of heartache, a lot of tears. My family and friends, a lot of tears, headaches, aggravation, but we’re here. Victory,” said McNair to FOX.