An Atlanta father killed over $30. Police did this to solve the case.
By Ciara Cummings
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ATLANTA (WANF) — Gloridine Stephens-Hines makes the drive on Jonesboro Road to Southside Cemetery once a month, a journey in which no music is playing and no one is talking, because the silence is loud enough.
On the way to plant flowers at the grave, she always thinks about the call she got eight years ago on Oct. 7, 2015.
“One night I will never forget,” Stephens-Hines said.
Police responded that night to reports of gunshots at a southwest Atlanta house party, where a group of friends were playing dominoes for money.
During the gathering, two armed men walked in, demanding the cash. The game only amounted to about $30, according to court records. Prosecutors said the “botched” armed robbery resulted in the shooting death of Marquis Stephens. The 41-year-old was a beloved husband and father. He was also Stephens-Hines’ son.
“They took a lot away from me,” cried Stephens-Hines. “I know he’s gone but it [still] just hurts so bad.”
Two men – Rodney Gibbs and Kevin Reeves – were charged and convicted. Facial recognition technology identified Reeves as a suspect.
At the crime scene, a witness recognized one of the suspects from an Instagram picture and told Atlanta police; the witness didn’t know the suspect’s name. Investigators ran that Instagram image through facial recognition.
Police also asked the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to run a facial recognition search of their database.
Stephens-Hines credits Atlanta police detective Jarion Shepard for his investigation, and records indicate he was indeed thorough.
Although Shepard had a positive match from facial recognition, he didn’t make an arrest on that alone. Instead, case files show police searched for more evidence.
Officers attended a community candlelight vigil, gave out fliers, and canvassed. Eventually, a tipster provided one of the suspect’s nicknames and home address. Later, the suspect’s mom even gave police his phone number.
Detectives then checked Fulton County jail records to see if any inmates made any recent calls to that number, a number which belonged to Reeves.
An inmate did happen to call, coincidentally two days after the murder.
“I’m talking about some [expletive] happened,” Reeves told his incarcerated friend. “I hit a [expletive] in the head.” Police considered it Reeves’ confession.
Police obtained a warrant for Reeves’ cell phone. Data showed cell towers placed him at the scene at the time of the shooting, according to court records.
Reeves was convicted, due in part to facial recognition, proving the technology can be successful when used as a tool alongside other police work.
Marquis Stephens’s family remains grateful for the verdict.
“That was my first born,” Stephens-Hines said. “And the way he was taken away from me in the blink of an eye, that can happen to any mother. I just didn’t think it would happen to me.”
Since at least 2008, the DDS has contracted with facial recognition companies, according to records.
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