Road rage murder conviction for former Atlanta lawyer overturned
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The Georgia Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of former Atlanta attorney Bryan Keith Schmitt.
Schmitt was convicted in 2022 of killing a man who allegedly damaged his car with a golf ball during a road rage incident. He was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole by a jury in Fulton County.
Incident Overview
The incident occurred on July 30, 2019, in the Sandy Springs area. Schmitt was driving through a residential area when he saw 60-year-old Hamid Jahangard standing by the road. Jahangard reportedly made a throwing motion with his arm, resulting in a loud noise and an impact on Schmitt's car.
Schmitt turned his car around to confront Jahangard, and an argument ensued across the street. During the altercation, Schmitt decided to turn into the driveway where Jahangard was standing, resulting in Jahangard being struck.
Schmitt's Defense
During the trial, Schmitt claimed that he turned into the driveway "to try to sort out what happened and to see if there was any damage to [his] car."
Schmitt says misjudged the turning radius of his car and never meant to hit Jahangard. He also said that he lost his focus on Jahangard when he saw some trashcans directly in front of him and instinctively cut his wheel to the right and hit his brakes to miss them.
Schmitt claims that after he struck Jahangard, his military training hicked in and he jumped out of his car and immediately began to render aid.
Throughout his testimony, the lawyer referred to the incident as an accident and said he did not intend to harm, hurt, scare, intimidate or kill Jahangard.
Witness Testimonies
One witness said that Schmitt told him that Jahangard threw a golf ball at his car and that Jahangard jumped in front of his car. He also said that when he offered Schmitt his contact information, the lawyer declined and Schmitt's demeanors was "very emotionless, very plain" and "nonchalant."
Another witness testified that although she did not see the incident, she reprimanded Schmitt for attempting to move Jahangard's lef from under his back humper. She says that Schmitt told her that Jahangard was walking and threw something at this car. Schmitt also reportedly claimed that Jahangard pushed a trashcan onto his car and the trashcan bounced off his car, hit Jahangard, and knocked him over.
A fire department captain testified that Schmitt told him that he did not know what happened or remember if Jahangard was hit. The captian said Schmitt mentioned something about a golf ball and that Jahangard was yelling at him.
A paramedic who responded to the scene testified that Schmitt seemed not to remember if Jahangard "went up and over or underneath" the car and the paramedic was a little sturck that there wasn't more emotion or concern.
During the trial, the State cited Schmitt's conduct and demeanor before, during, and after the collision to as proof of criminal intent.
Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court ruled that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on the defense of accident, as there was sufficient evidence to support this defense. The Court also determined that the State failed to demonstrate that this error was harmless.
However, the Court affirmed the legal sufficiency of the evidence to sustain Schmitt's conviction, allowing the State the option to retry the case. The decision to retry now lies with Fulton County District Attorney's Office.