Five local police officers have been indicted for murder in connection with a 2019 death near Atlanta Motor Speedway.
According to a statement released by the Henry County District Attorney’s office, a grand jury handed down indictments November 19 formally charging Henry County Police Department officers Robert Butera and Quinton Phillips as well as Hampton Police Department officers Mason Lewis, Marcus Stroud and Gregory Bowlden with one count each of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, and one count of aggravated assault. The grand jury also charged each officer with one count of violation of oath of office.

Fernando Rodriguez, 24, died in September of 2019 of asphyxiation as a result of the officers holding him down on the ground while he was handcuffed and shackled, applying pressure to his body, according to the DA’s office.

The indictments were issued after two days of testimony from witnesses, and arrest warrants for the officers were expected within a week. The case was also investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Rodriguez, who lived in the Atlanta area, was leaving the Imagine Music Festival at AMS when officers encountered him, the DA’s office stated. In addition to holding his naked body down on the ground, the officers struck Rodriguez more than a dozen times with their Tasers. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he later died.