The Augusta man facing murder charges in the yearlong unsolved slaying of a transgender woman was denied bond Tuesday, April 12.
Jerrome Miller, 29, was arrested last fall on murder charges in the Oct. 3, 2020, death of Felycya Harris.
Harris, 33, was found by two women looking for a place for a gathering in a Meadowlark Drive park on Oct. 3, 2020, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Davis said Tuesday during Miller’s Richmond County Superior Court bond hearing.
Sheriff investigators interviewed many people, but there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, not even someone who reported hearing gunfire, Davis said. It wasn’t until nearly a year later when they could access texts and see Harris’ list of phone calls that investigators were able to grab onto leads in the case, such as the last call and text Harris received. That call was from a number that turned out to belong to a burner phone, the prosecutor said.
Although the burner phone was untraceable, the lead investigator found out that the first call made on the burner phone was to a phone number that was to Miller’s work phone, Davis said. The first call on a burner phone is usually to a known number to ensure the burner is working, Davis said. The investigator discovered the burner was used to contact several escorts. One number belonged to another transgender woman who had also been shot but survived, Davis said.
From a hospital bed, the shooting victim told the Richmond County detective that one of her steady dates was a man she knew as “J.” One phone number she had for him was the number of Miller’s work phone, Davis said. She also picked Miller out of a photo lineup as “J,” and she also believes he was the one who shot her, Davis said.
Miller had several different burner phones he had used, and during the investigation he exchanged his old work phone for another, the prosecutor said. The investigators now suspect Miller could have shot the second victim to keep her from speaking to law enforcement, although he has not been charged, Davis said.
Defense attorney Tianna Bias countered that the victim who was shot but survived didn’t tell anyone who she suspected had shot her for some time and that she could have named Miller because she was angry with Miller. He had told her he couldn’t bring her more drugs, Bias said.
Miller is a lifelong resident of Augusta and his family lives here and will support him, Bias said. He has held a steady job for several years, and he has no criminal history.
Judge Amanda Heath said that while it appears at this stage it is a circumstantial case, the fact a second person was shot was troubling. She denied bond.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
