Disappointing news out of DeKalb court today - accused serial burglar Demarcus Buice was granted bond after being denied bond last Saturday when Buzzers showed up for court. And while his bond is what a Buzzer with DA connections calls very high for the crimes he’s charged with ($125,000), it’s quite disheartening to go from feeling like citizens can make a difference to feeling like a sucker for even trying in the span of five days.
And the assistant district attorney who spoke for the state Saturday had told us this hearing was no big deal and we didn’t need to turn out for it. Gee, thanks for that.
How long it’ll take for Buice’s family to find enough of the cash Demarcus has made stealing flat-panel TVs and laptops or fence some of the “inventory” he no doubt has stashed somewhere to raise the bond is unclear. But if he ends up back on the street before trial, the message will be clear that DeKalb Superior Court isn’t willing to protect citizens against the thugs preying on our neighborhoods.
It was a very interesting morning for a group of Buzzers who ventured out to DeKalb Magistrate Court for the bond hearing of one Demarcus Buice. Buice is charged with four burglaries and one attempted burglary and is suspected in dozens more. He has been on the Atlanta Police Most Wanted list for at least six months and was finally captured this week after a CrimeStoppers tip.
Getting to see his booking mugshot was a highlight of our week.
Last night I got an email from Ed Gilgor (the public safety bulldog of our community association) saying Buice had a bond hearing this morning and that community turnout was key to win a bond denial and keep him in jail. Buzzers had already stepped up with letters sent to the DeKalb District Attorney’s office in opposition to releasing a guy who was wanted by police for six months and is linked to dozens of burglaries back into the neighborhood. But Gilgor stressed the importance of public turnout, and despite the very late notice we turned out a dozen Buzzers for the hearing today.
And our attendance was just a bonus - victims of Buice’s alleged burglaries in East Lake and Kirkwood (the neighborhoods hit in the burglaries Buice is charged for now) were there with other residents of those areas. In total, about 30 people came out on a Saturday morning, and a couple of hundred other people spoke up with letters to APD and the DA’s office.
The effect of this level of community involvement to push hard on the justice system is significant, and it’s an important lesson for anybody living in areas being targeted for this kind of property crime.
Typically, an initial appearance in court includes just the defendant, the judge and the officer who swore out the warrants. Facts of the warrant are presented, the judge questions the defendant about his life on the outside, and the judge considers really basic information to determine what level of bond to set. That’s the way it went for the three other guys making initial appearances today.
But Buice faced a very different sort of thing this morning. Because of the community involvement and expected turnout, DeKalb assistant DA Gunnar Pak showed up to speak for the state and the residents and met with Judge Janis Gordon before the hearing. He was able to explain Buice’s history, his suspected involvement in many other burglaries and the neighborhoods’ concern about him being released on bond to the judge, giving her a clear context for the hearing.
And the impact of that was dramatic. The judge challenged Buice hard on why he should be granted bond, and he had no answers. The point of showing up was to get bond denied, and thankfully that happened.
Buice, however, stepped up to make the court appearance truly awesome. Perhaps feeling intimidated by the crowd the judge reminded him was sitting behind him or pressured by Pak calling him a “professional” burglar, Buice cracked. When Pak told the judge Buice was suspected of being a leader of a crew responsible for dozens of burglaries, Buice bristled and said he hasn’t done nearly that many burglaries. The judge quickly reminded Buice that it’s not advisable for a defendant to speak to the charges in an initial court appearance.
But he wasn’t done.
In the process of trying to make his case for bond, Buice told the judge he grew up in Kirkwood, feels bad for the trouble he’s caused and that the judge doesn’t have to worry about him breaking in to any more houses. He then turned around to the crowd behind him and apologized for breaking into our homes. Pak told us afterward that Buice’s preliminary hearing may consist solely of him reading the statements Buice made today.
WSB-TV was on hand to capture the magic.
The admissions were a sideshow, however. The key point that was made today is community involvement does make a difference in how DeKalb County views defendants. There aren’t a lot of guys like Buice who have been identified in so many burglaries or wanted for so long, but we now have a blueprint for working with police and prosecutors to keep such guys off the streets.
And a whole lot of credit needs to be given to Judge Gordon, who was sole discretion on Buice’s bond. She listened, she understood and she did the right thing.
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