Five police officers charged with murder in a 2019 case can now face an additional murder count after the Georgia Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision.
What’s Happening: The Supreme Court of Georgia has brought back a felony murder charge against five officers accused of killing Fernando Rodriguez. The 24-year-old died after officers held him down until he stopped breathing following the Imagine Music Festival at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton.
What’s Important: The court ruled that the way the officers allegedly violated their oaths by holding Rodriguez down could support a murder charge. This means prosecutors can move forward with more serious charges against the five officers.
The Background: Rodriguez was found walking naked on a road near the speedway in September 2019. Officers Mason Lewis, Marcus Stroud, and Gregory Bolden from Hampton Police Department and Quinton Phillips and Robert Butera from Henry County Police Department responded to the call. According to court records, the officers stretched Rodriguez out on the ground in a prone position while he was handcuffed and shackled, held him down, and applied pressure to his body until he died from asphyxiation.
The Legal Fight: The officers were indicted in November 2021 on multiple charges including malice murder, felony murder based on aggravated assault, felony murder based on violation of oath, aggravated assault, and violation of oath by public officer. The trial court dismissed the felony murder charge that was based on oath violation, saying that breaking an oath isn’t dangerous enough to support a murder charge. The state appealed that decision.
The Court’s Decision: In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Carla Wong McMillian, the Supreme Court disagreed with the trial court. The court said that under Georgia law, any felony can serve as the basis for a felony murder charge as long as it creates a foreseeable risk of death. The court found that holding someone down in a prone position while handcuffed and shackled until they stop breathing could meet that standard.
What Happens Next: The case goes back to Henry County Superior Court. The trial judge still needs to rule on other legal challenges the officers have filed. Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson noted in a separate opinion that some of those challenges may have merit.
The Timeline: Rodriguez died on September 20, 2019. The officers were indicted in November 2021. The Georgia Supreme Court issued its decision on December 9, 2025.
Between the Lines: This ruling matters because it keeps alive a more serious murder charge against the officers. Felony murder charges require prosecutors to prove that a death occurred during the commission of a felony, but they don’t have to prove the person intended to kill someone. The city of Hampton settled a civil lawsuit with Rodriguez’s family for $3 million in 2021.
