Cops Facing Murder Charges Booked In, Released In Dead of Night

ATLANTA — A pair of law enforcement officers indicted last week on murder charges turned themselves in early Wednesday morning while Atlanta recovered from Braves revelry and election watching.

Eric Heinz, a U.S. Marshals assistant chief inspector, and Clayton County Police officer Kristopher Hutchens both were charged with two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, first-degree burglary, making false statements (two counts for Hutchens), and violation of oath by a public officer. Court records say that both men lied to a Georgia Bureau of Investigations agent during the inquest following the officer-involved shooting.

Hutchens and Heinz were part of a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force team sent to serve an arrest warrant to Jamarion Robinson in August 2016.

As a result of his encounter with about a dozen heavily armed task force team members, Robinson was killed, shot more than 70 times, according to reports and court documents.

Details of the incident remain unclear, but the 26-year-old Robinson, who is Black, had been accused at some point of pointing a gun at an officer. The officers are white.

Hutchens was booked into the Fulton County Jail at 12:32 a.m., according to jail records. Heinz was booked in at 1 a.m., records show. Both were released by 2:40 a.m., each on $50,000 bonds.

A lawsuit claiming the two officers and eight other policemen used excessive force is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals.