A Richmond County jury found an Augusta man guilty of the lesser charge of felony obstruction and not guilty of drug trafficking after a 2020 incident in which he dragged a deputy with his car, causing serious injury.
Deputy Keith Inman was hospitalized for nearly three weeks after defendant Kaylon Smith drove away from a traffic stop with Inman caught on his door Sept. 2, 2020.
Smith, 32, dragged Inman across a parking lot and into two utility poles, which dislodged him. He then fled to woods off Barton Chapel Road, where Smith as well as 410 grams of cocaine were later found by authorities.
After the verdict was read, Smith and his attorney, Keith B. Johnson, shared an emotional embrace. Johnson later said he meant no disrespect to Inman or his family.
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Inman and other law enforcement present for the verdicts afterward stood stunned. Inman said he had not fully recovered from his injuries and declined to comment on the jury’s decision.
Richmond County Superior Court Judge John Flythe sentenced Smith to five years. It was not clear late Friday how much time he’ll spend behind bars.
“This district attorney’s office will always stand up for officers who do the right thing,” said District Attorney Jared Williams.
Smith had been indicted for aggravated assault of a peace officer, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years, and drug trafficking, which carries a minimum 25-year sentence.
The dragging incident and manhunt that followed drew a groundswell of media attention and community support for Inman, who was in intensive care for several days.
During the three-day trial, there were multiple references to the 2020 deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others at the hands of police and the killing of Ahmaud Arbery by men with law enforcement ties.
Smith claimed during the traffic stop Inman made him believe his life was in danger and he panicked.
“I was scared. I ran for my life,” he said.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Kevin Davis questioned the comparison.
“Are you comparing yourself to Ahmaud Arbery? Are you comparing yourself to Breonna Taylor?”
Arbery died “for no apparent reason,” Davis said. “He did not have 410 grams of crack cocaine.”
“Just like I did not, either,” Smith said.
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Johnson also focused on a 2019 incident in which Smith said he’d been beaten, tased, and stripped naked by police after the person he was riding with fled from police. Smith was treated for head injuries at Doctors Hospital but never arrested or charged.
The sheriff’s office had been investigating Smith for dealing drugs and had placed a tracking device on his vehicle, testimony revealed. When Smith made a quick trip to Atlanta, Inman was assigned to pull him over.
Inman stopped Smith over at the Wrightsboro Road exit off I-20, telling him he had a window tint violation and brake light out, then asked him to pull into a nearby gas station lot. Inman asked to search the car and Smith declined, so Inman had his canine sniff for drugs.
Inman walked toward Smith’s car window after the dog signaled drugs were present, seconds later stating, “you know what time it is.” He reached into the window to grab him as Smith drove off.
During closing arguments Williams said it was common for drug traffickers to use small businesses — Smith had two car wash shops, one next to a daycare, and did contract car washing in other cities — to conceal their activities. A witness testified Smith exited his car and carried a bag from the trunk toward the woods with him, he reminded jurors.
Williams brought out what he called a “wheel of distraction,” created from a spinning wheel used to make random choices. Each section of the wheel were details about the traffic stop, evidence collection and investigation that Johnson brought out that were only intended to distract the jury, Williams said.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
