Grand jury to decide fate of man charged in Lummus murder

Staff Writer

A man charged in connection with the October 2004 brutal murder of 89-year-old Hazel Lummus was bound over to Superior Court Wednesday after riveting testimony.

Johnny Ware, 36, 104 Park Lane, has been in custody since his arrest on possession of crack cocaine in October 2004.

Ware, being held in Monroe County for his own protection, is charged with felony murder and malicious murder in connection with Lummus' death. All charges were bound over for grand jury action.

Magistrate Judge William Hughley denied bail on the murder charges, but set a bond of $5,000 on the drug charge.

District Attorney Scott Ballard represented the state, while public defenders Joseph Saia and Arthur English represented Ware.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ben Hanson said the GBI became suspicious of Ware when his stories "were not consistent" with other neighbor's accounts.

Ware was first contacted during a standard neighborhood canvas the day Lummus was found.

"He would give us statements, and then those would change," Hanson said. "Also, he described seeing someone crouching in front of her house, but no one else in the neighborhood did."

Ware, according to Hanson, gave voluntary consent for police to search his house.

"Did you notify Ware that he was a suspect at this time?" Saia asked.

"He was not a suspect at that time, just a person of interest," Hanson replied.

One of the state's main pieces of evidence in the murder case is a pair of shoes which appeared to have had dried blood on it..

"Impressions were found from the front door, down an embankment, and then over to the railroad tracks," Hanson explained.

The GBI's Crime Lab in Atlanta is conducting tests on the shoe to determine if footprints are a match and if the blood was

Lummus'.

A second search was conducted Oct. 8 at Ware's residence after receiving information about his allegedly burning items behind his house.

"Upon entering the residence, we did locate a pair of shoes that had a similar pattern on them," Hanson said. "The tread pattern has not been examined, but there is human blood on those shoes," he said.

Ware, in an interview Oct. 11, admitted to owning the shoes, according to Hanson's testimony.

"Was the blood noticeable from plain view?" Saia asked.

"The blood was not detectable unless under the right light because it was dried blood on black shoes," Hanson said.

Also during the search on Oct. 8th, other items were recovered.

Burned debris, including burned currency and part of a purse, was reportedly found outside his door.

"A purse was the only item that could be determined that was taken from the residence," Hanson said.

"She was known to keep a substantial sum of cash on her, and the purse was the one item in the residence that we could not locate, and no one could explain it's whereabouts," he said.

Ware, when first arrested, was in the possession of a $100 bill and numerous burned coins, authorities say.

"We were curious about where he would obtain a $100 bill, especially when it had been noted to us that Mrs. Lummus would keep $100 bills in her purse," Hanson said.

Ware, according to testimony, claimed to get the $100 bill from an ATM machine.

"There is not an ATM in Thomaston or the surrounding area that issues $100 bills. They only issue $20 bills," Hanson said.

An interview with Ware was conducted by Upson County Sheriff Department Captain William Hosley and with Ken Partridge of the Thomaston Police Department.

"In that interview, he would not admit to actually killing Mrs. Lummus, but did admit to the theft of the purse and burning the purse behind his residence," Hanson said.

Ware told authorities that another he called "James" committed the murder after entering the woman's house through the back door.

"He said that he could see James from the front door area as he came up behind Mrs. Lummus," he said.

"We knew that could not be accurate because it is physically impossible to see the back door of the residence, and we also know the back door was locked from a latch inside," Hanson said.

An extensive search for "James" produced no findings, and Ware could not provide any additional information about him, other than a physical description.

Potential witnesses were asked to leave the court room half way through the defense's questioning.

Attorney Arthur English argued that the crime scene was disturbed before law enforcement arrived.

Hanson, in his testimony, said the first person on the scene, a close relative, made a conscious effort not to disturb the body.

"A brass pot was out of place on the porch and that was moved," Hanson said. "Also, a damp rag had to be used when he began feeling faint."

"Two other relatives arrived before law enforcement arrived," Hanson said.

"So it's safe to say that the scene was not secure," English said.

"That would be an assumption," Hanson said.

"And as of this time there are no fingerprints of my clients on the scene," English said.

"At this time, a report has not been returned to me," Hanson said.

The defense also questioned the accuracy of the interview conducted by the two local law enforcement officials.

"When questioned by GBI agents, who are supposedly more objective and removed from the case, my client denied involvement in the crime," English said.

"But suddenly, we have two local agents who have close ties to the victim's family interview him, and he admits involvement."

"There is no proof that my client was on the scene," English said.

Ballard argued that Ware admitted to being present during the murder.

"We have on tape a confession of his saying he was present and saw a 'James' kill Mrs. Lummus," Ballard said in his closing statement. "But there is no James. Johnny Ware murdered Hazel Lummus."

"There is no evidence presented to the court that directly points to my client," Saia said. "It's all speculation."

Judge Hughley ruled that this case will be considered by the grand jury in August.

"This is a probable cause hearing, and based on the evidence, he will be bound over on the charge of crack cocaine and the charge of felony murder and malice murder," Hughley said.