An Augusta man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for last year’s shooting death of a man outside a Circle K.
The jury heard evidence this week that Donald Gross shot 48-year-old Samuel Dewayne Jackson while on the phone with 911 dispatchers in August 21, 2022. They returned a guilty verdict on Friday.
Jurors listened repeatedly to audio of Gross’ call to 911 during which he told the dispatcher, “I called you because I was afraid.” He told the dispatcher and officers that Jackson had threatened to kill him and “pop a cap in (his) ass,” but Jackson’s only comments on audio were obscenities and refusing to give his name.
“I’m going to shoot him if he comes over here messing with me,” he told the dispatcher.
She was still on the line when Gross shot Jackson with a 12-gauge shotgun. “I just put him down, ma’am,” he said.
When Jackson approached him with a black cell phone in his hand, “I thought he had a gun,” Gross said.
Gross, 62, was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. Court documents showed another judge suggested a mental evaluation. But Gross’ mental status didn’t come up at trial.
According to prosecutors, Gross went to the gas station to get signatures for a recall petition. When his advances were rebuffed by Jackson, a verbal altercation ensued. Gross escalated matters by retrieving a 12-gauge shotgun and executing Jackson, despite the victim presenting no weapon. This was in broad daylight in a crowded gas station parking lot. The shot trajectory suggests the victim was turning away from the defendant, a fact pointed out by Chief ADA Kevin Davis in closing arguments.
Self-defense cases are extremely difficult to prove, according to District Attorney Jared Williams. Gross began building his self-defense claims before the murder occurred. He called 911 stating the victim was threatening to kill him, despite no threats being made. The jury ultimately disregarded this false claim in favor of evidence proving Gross was the primary aggressor.
Gross, who was raised in Augusta then lived in California for several years, took an interest in local politics. He appeared at political events last year with a dog and handed out fliers.
One of the fliers was critical of then-candidate Garnett Johnson and Gross was charged with disorderly conduct at Johnson’s campaign headquarters in May 2022.
Richmond County Elections Director Travis Doss testified at trial that Gross sought direction on filing a recall petition against Richmond County Solicitor Omeeka Loggins.
The petition stated that Loggins had used a county vehicle to meet with Gov. Brian Kemp’s office about a judicial appointment. One of his fliers, shown at trial, stated “Solicitor failed” and included a newspaper headline about Loggins’ hire of former Chief Assistant District Attorney Geoffrey Alls.
He had another pending charge from last year for obstructing an officer for refusing to leave a gas station after “engaging in political speech” there. The charge was revised to criminal trespass.
On Friday, Superior Court Judge Amanda Heath sentenced Gross to life in prison without parole plus five years.
Before the murder, prosecutors had dropped a simple battery charge from 2019 that had been pending against Gross for three years. In that case, Gross was accused of beating up his 32-year-old nephew while doing yard work at the house where his nephew lived. The nephew, Terrance Cothron, told authorities that Gross was upset because he wasn’t doing work around the house that he shared with his grandmother.
Cothron told Gross to “piss off,” and Gross reacted by grabbing him around the neck, fighting him and then holding him down while spraying mace in his eyes. He suffered abrasions to the elbow and hand as well as swollen eyes from the mace, a report says.
“The victim stated the suspect has a history of bipolar and mental illness,” the report says.
Press release from Jared Williams:
