Grice Connect regularly updates its readers on the continued success of the Fusus surveillance system and its effectiveness in helping to solve local crime cases. Grice Connect spoke with two Bulloch County Assistant District Attorneys, Jillian Gibson and Russell Jones, to share some recent successes of the Fusus protection system and how it aided them in resolving cases.
Fusus continues to prove itself to be a valuable crime-fighting tool for the Statesboro Police Department. In conjunction with multiple partnering businesses, it helps the department to resolve cases and public disturbances more quickly and efficiently.
"From our view, Fusus essentially takes a step out of the process," stated Jones. "Before Fusus, law enforcement would have to wait around around for a record custodian or property manager to come out to the property and pull up the video footage. So, anyone who has opted into Fusus can immediately access those cameras."
And with that footage in hand, casework is made easier for those who are prosecuting criminals in Statesboro and Bulloch County.
"The footage we receive from law enforcement helps us to corroborate victim or witness testimony," explained Gibson. "Basically, it's helpful to us as an investigative tool that we can use during trial to show jurors what happened."
April 2023 Case Background: Shooting near Luetta Moore Park
Gibson was the ADA for the case of the April 2023 shooting near Luetta Moore Park and provides the details of her case here.
On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at 10:52 p.m. Statesboro Police Officers responded to East Georgia Regional Medical Center for a male who had arrived with non-fatal gunshot wounds to the leg. The male indicated that he had been shot at the W.D. Kent Park at 107 West Grady Street. Officers searched that area and located physical evidence of the shooting.
While investigating the first shooting, officers heard gunshots from the direction of Bobby Donaldson Avenue followed by a 911 call reporting a male shot there.
Officers located a male victim shot multiple times at that location. Detectives investigating both shootings used Fusus camera footage extensively along with interviews to identify Saleem Thomas (23, Statesboro) as the shooter in both incidents. Warrants for Aggravated Assault were issued, and Thomas turned himself in on Wednesday, April 18, 2023.
"The scene for this particular case took place during the night time," Gibson said. "A vehicle pulled up the location with the defendant inside the vehicle. Also from the Fusus footage, we can see the victim arriving to the location on foot. Both parties are seen getting into an altercation, and the defendant can be seen on the footage shooting the victim. The defendant gets into the vehicle and flees the scene. However, you can see from the video which direction the suspect fled to. The entire situation was captured on two different cameras from two different camera angles, and both cameras were utilized through the Fusus system."
April 2022 Case Background: Shooting at Pinewood Manor
Jones was the ADA for the April 2022 Pinewood Manor shooting case and provides the details of his case here.
On April 23, 2022, at 6:47 p.m., SPD officers were dispatched to Pinewood Manor Apartments on Packinghouse Road in Statesboro for a male shot at that location.
Upon arrival, officers discovered 26-year-old De’onta Trowel-Mosteller behind an apartment block deceased. Bulloch County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area as well to assist in securing the outdoor scene.
On April 25, 2022, SPD detectives investigating the murder of Trowel-Mosteller obtained arrest warrants for 32-year-old Chaz Burgest on charges of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Crime. ADA Jones tried the case using the Fusus footage as evidence.
"The scene for my case took place at Pinewood Manor where a victim was shot and killed on the scene," he said. "From the footage, you can see the argument taking place in the breezeway. From the Fusus footage, you can see the victim walk out on one end of the breezeway, turn his head, and then he gets shots immediately and hits the ground. The cameras from the other side of the complex catch the defendant running out the other side of the breezeway immediately after. You can see the trajectory of where he was running, and law enforcement was able to quickly pull up the Fusus footage on their tablets and resolve the case quickly. The jury verdict on my case was voluntary manslaughter."
How Fusus works
Fusus is a software which is paired to your existing video system. After Fusus is paired with your system, it gives law enforcement the ability to access your cameras and view your business’s most frequented areas. This is extremely important to law enforcement as it reduces the time for cases to be solved. In high-risk situations, it helps to identify and apprehend perpetrators more quickly and in conflicting witness testimony situations, it clarifies the grey areas quicker.
Each business can restrict the use of its cameras that surveil private and high security areas. The SPD is most concerned with shared community areas, particularly cameras on which external areas and roadways can be seen.
Fusus is an Atlanta-based company which keeps Law Enforcement Officers, Security Personnel, and the Communities they protect safer. They enable public safety personnel to function more efficiently and with improved operational intelligence, by creating a common operating picture that emphasizes officer, citizen, and community safety.
For more information about the Fusus system or its enrollment process, contact Operations Bureau Captain at Statesboro Police Department, Captain Jared Akins, at (912) 531-8854. for more support.
