In the early evening of January 19, 2015, tragedy struck in Savannah, Georgia, when 34-year-old James Pastures was fatally shot in front of an apartment on the 1900 block of East 51st Street. The incident left the community searching for answers and law enforcement embarking on a lengthy investigation to bring those responsible to justice.
More than a year later, in March 2016, a significant breakthrough occurred in the case. With the assistance of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department's Violent Crimes detectives arrested 24-year-old Henry Speaks, charging him with the murder of James Pastures. Shortly after, a second suspect, 22-year-old Shacqueal Yves Omar Sanders, was identified, and a public appeal was made for his location. Sanders, described as a Black male with a light brown complexion, eventually turned himself in to the Chatham County Detention Center and was also charged with murder.
The legal proceedings that followed were complex and intertwined with another murder case, that of 21-year-old Rebecca Foley. Both Sanders and Speaks faced trial alongside other defendants in a case that alleged the killings were the result of gang activity. An initial trial in October 2018 was dramatically cut short when a mistrial was declared due to a threat made against a juror. This led to the arrest of two individuals for juror intimidation.
A new trial commenced, and in November 2018, a Chatham County jury reached a verdict. After nearly three weeks of testimony, both Shacqueal Sanders and Henry Speaks were found guilty of the malice murder of James Pastures. The prosecution successfully argued that the defendants were members of a local gang and that the murders were a direct result of their gang involvement. The verdict brought a measure of closure to the family of James Pastures after a long and arduous journey for justice.
