One of two men on trial for murder in the 2022 killing of Alan Newsome abruptly changed course Thursday, pleading guilty to a lesser charge and agreeing to testify against his co-defendant – the victim’s own brother-in-law.
Brentin Coleman, now 23, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in Richmond County Superior Court, admitting partial responsibility for the violent St. Patrick’s Day encounter that ended in Newsome’s death. Coleman, who will be sentenced at a later date, also agreed to become a state’s witness against Carlos Figueroa, who remains on trial for murder and other charges. The trial continues Friday.
Two other defendants, T’Zaiah Dukes and Ortegas Jones, both 17 at the time, had previously accepted plea deals. Dukes testified Thursday morning.
Prosecutors say all four men played a role in the beating and fatal shooting of Newsome in the early morning hours of March 18, 2022, at the Rosetown Trailer Park on Ulm Road.
Thursday’s proceedings were marked by raw emotion as the victim’s wife – and Figueroa’s sister – took the stand. Nadia Newsome, a six-year deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, delivered heart-wrenching testimony about discovering her husband’s lifeless body in the street.
“I saw Alan on the ground, and I jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward him,” she said. “He was lying on his back, and I just laid on top of him.”
Jurors listened as prosecutors played multiple 911 calls Nadia made, capturing her frantic screams as she begged dispatchers for help. In court, Nadia wiped tears from her eyes as the 911 calls were played.
“He is dead. He is not a patient,” she told the dispatcher. “I need someone to get him out of the middle of the road.”
Although she initially told dispatchers and prosecutors that no one else was present, the calls captured a man’s voice in the background: “I ain’t got s**t to do with this, but I got to go.” Prosecutors believe it was Figueroa.
Asked on the stand whether she recognized the voice, Nadia denied seeing anyone else but admitted he must have been nearby.
“At no point did I look up,” she testified. “I had been laying on Alan until [first responders] arrived.”
Nadia also shared troubling details about her six-month marriage to Newsome, which began just three weeks after meeting him. She described the relationship as volatile, marked by drinking and emotional outbursts, including at least one incident requiring a sheriff’s office response.
The fatal night began with an argument between the couple in downtown Augusta, which led to them being kicked out of a Broad Street club. The dispute continued outside Garden City Social, where Nadia approached her brother, Figueroa. That sparked a new argument between Alan and Figueroa, along with the three other teens.
“There was just a lot of yelling going on,” she said.
Later that night, after returning to her mother’s home, Nadia said she became alarmed when her husband left in their vehicle. She used location tracking to follow his movements, which led her to Figueroa’s neighborhood. She testified that she called Figueroa, heard gunfire in the background, and urged him to go outside — but he refused.
“I raced over to the trailer park,” she said. “That’s where I found Alan.”
Nadia said she spoke with her brother three days later, through a third party. “I told him I loved him. He said ‘I love you’ back. I asked what happened. He just repeated, ‘I love you,’ and got off the phone.”
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Keith Johnson, Nadia acknowledged that Alan could be controlling and physically aggressive when drinking, but said her brother had never threatened Alan and was not involved in the earlier argument outside the club.
“No,” she said, confirming the dispute involved the younger suspects.
The Background
Newsome, 25, was a nurse at Eisenhower Army Medical Center. He was found dead in the driveway of the Rosetown Trailer Park on March 18, 2022. Prosecutors allege he was lured there after a confrontation earlier that night after an evening of drinking in downtown Augusta by Alan and his wife.
According to opening statements, Newsome may have expected a fistfight, but instead was pistol-whipped by Figueroa before the attack escalated. Prosecutors say all four young men then participated in a brutal assault that left Newsome dead.
Figueroa, 29 at the time, was extradited from Florida after being identified as a suspect. Prosecutors argue he bears responsibility for his role and for initiating the chain of events. Figueroa has several previous arrests in Richmond County ranging from domestic violence to his indictment for street gang activity and violating the Racketeer Influences and Corrupt Organization Act and street gang terrorism.
Defense attorneys maintain that the evidence against Figueroa is flimsy and that key witnesses — especially the younger defendants — have lied repeatedly. Johnson said his client tried to de-escalate the situation and called his mother out of concern for his sister’s safety.
“I wouldn’t ask them to try to tell me how to get to South Augusta,” Johnson said of the prosecution’s witnesses.
Coleman, now cooperating with the prosecution, will be formally sentenced at a later date.
Superior Court Judge Jesse Stone is presiding over the trial, which resumes Friday.
