SUPERIOR COURT
A defendant in a felony murder case is one step closer to trial following his arraignment in Jones County Superior Court last week.
Troy Newton Scarborough was indicted by a Jones County Grand Jury June 18. In addition to the felony murder charge, he was charged with five counts of aggravated assault, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
He was in court Nov. 3 to be arraigned for the charges. An arraignment is the first step in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is brought in front of the court to face the charges against him and enter a plea.
Scarborough was represented at the proceeding by public defender Tom O’Donnell, and Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore represented the state. Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley presided over the arraignment.
The judge addressed the defendant before the plea was entered.
Bradley stated that the charge of felony murder comes with a maximum sentence of life without parole, and he asked Fiore if the state planned to seek the death penalty.
The prosecutor said the state did not plan to seek the death penalty in the case.
Following his interaction with the defendant, the judge said he was satisfied that Scarborough understood the charges against him.
The defendant entered a not guilty plea, which is the usual outcome for an arraignment. O’Donnell told the court that he would be filing a motion for a speedy trial.
“This is a unique case,” the defense attorney commented.
Case history
The Jones County Sheriff’s Office received a call March 27 about a suicide at Scarborough’s residence. The victim of the suicide was Shyanne Schroeder, Scarborough’s wife.
During an interview about the case, JCSO Investigator Lt. Kenny Gleaton said the husband made the call to report the suicide, but his behavior and visible head wounds raised suspicion of the responding officers.
Scarborough was transported for treatment and an investigation revealed that the husband had multiple felony convictions and was on bond in Jones County for drug charges. Gleaton said both firearms and methamphetamine were found in the home.
Scarborough was arrested March 28 for two counts of possession of a firearm by convicted felon or first offender. The charges of four counts of aggravated assault family violence and felony murder were added April 27 after investigators reviewed videos from multiple surveillance cameras inside the couple’s residence.
Gleaton said after watching the surveillance videos, they developed probable cause that Schroeder was assaulted multiple times over several hours leading up to her death.
Count 1 of Scarborough’s June 28 indictment states that while in the commission of a felony, aggravated assault, he caused the death of Shyanne Schroeder by striking her with a wooden object and deadly weapons, a shotgun and a revolver and by choking. Those acts resulted in emotional and physical distress, which resulted in Schroeder shooting herself with a firearm.
Investigators referenced Georgia Code 16-15-1c, when Scarborough was charged in April.
The statute states a person also commits the offense of murder when, in the commission of a felony, he causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.
Gleaton said an example of that is a robber who points a gun at a victim who then dies of a heart attack. He said the robber’s actions, while committing a felony, caused the death of the victim and the robber would be guilty of felony murder.
