In the autumn of 2014, a 44-year-old man named Robert Earl Bolden was killed in Columbus, Georgia. His life was cut short on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, the result of a gunshot wound to the torso. The events that led to his death unfolded during what was described as a drug deal.
Following an investigation into the fatal shooting, two cousins, Adrian Patterson and Gary Lee Jones, were identified as suspects.
Both men were subsequently arrested and charged in connection with Bolden's death. However, the path to justice would prove to be complex, as each of the accused men pointed the finger at the other, claiming the other was responsible for firing the shot that killed Bolden.
The cases against the two cousins went to separate trials. In December of that year, Gary Lee Jones was acquitted of the charges against him. A few months later, in May 2018, his cousin, Adrian Patterson, also went to trial. During the proceedings, jurors heard a recorded statement in which Patterson claimed that Bolden had attempted to rob him with a pistol, and that Jones then shot Bolden. In his own trial, Jones testified that it was Patterson who shot Bolden. After hours of deliberation, the jury found Adrian Patterson not guilty. With both of the accused men acquitted, no one has been convicted for the death of Robert Bolden.
