Former Griffin Police Officer Faces Charges for Failure to Investigate Brother's Connection in Murder

A police officer from Georgia has been charged with intentionally neglecting to investigate his half-brother as a potential suspect in a murder case. 

D’Marquivius “D.J.” King, 25, has been charged with Violation of Oath of Office, according to the announcement made by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Friday. 

This indictment is the result of an investigation initiated in February last year into King's handling of the murder investigation of Javarreis Reid, who was fatally shot at the age of 25 in May 2021. 

King was assigned to the case but failed to fulfill his duties as a police investigator. 

It was revealed that King, while working as an investigator with the Griffin Police Department, discovered his brother’s involvement in Reid’s murder, but failed to conduct a proper investigation. 

After a Spalding County grand jury review, an indictment was issued, leading to King turning himself in on March 22 and being booked into the Spalding County Jail. 

The concerns about King’s conduct were raised over a year before the indictment. 

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News reports highlighted King’s failure to investigate his brother’s potential involvement in the murder, as internal records confirmed Beck as a suspect. 

King was found to have violated the department policy by not disclosing the conflict of interest and neglecting to identify Beck as a suspect. 

The investigation also revealed policy violations by the former police chief Yates, who subsequently retired. 

King, who joined the force in 2017, was considered a promising officer. 

He resigned from his position in September after the district attorney’s office concluded that policy violations had occurred. 

His half-brother, Beck, was eventually apprehended in 2023 on charges of murder and aggravated assault. 

Moreover, the charge of Violation of Duty in Georgia carries a prison sentence ranging from one to five years.

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