COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A mother is speaking out after she said police wrongfully arrested her teenage son in a slaying he did not commit.
Tyon Gorman,19, was shot and killed outside a Marietta convenience store on Bells Ferry Road in April.
Police arrested Mekhi Hilali on suspicion of killing Gorman, but surveillance video proves he was not there.
"Yes (the charges) have been dropped, and yes it has been hell for the last month," said Artheia Hilali, Mekhi Hilali's mother. She contacted Channel 2 Action News to clear her son's name.
"They painted him to be this monster, this bad guy. He's actually a good kid," Artheia Hilali said.
Marietta police arrested Mekhi Hilali in April in Gorman's death, but Artheia Hilali said her son's alibi is rock solid.
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She told Channel 2 Action News he was at a gas station in Paulding County when someone fatally shot Gorman.
"We have surveillance video of Mekhi was in Dallas, Georgia, at the time of the shooting. He was nowhere near Bells Ferry Road," Artheia Hilali said.
Marietta Police Department officials said the investigation led to the collection of witness statements that gave investigators probable cause to secure a warrant for Mekhi Hilali.
The Cobb County District Attorney's Office told Channel 2 Action News surveillance video confirmed the teenager's alibi, and prosectors dropped all charges on the arrest warrant, including murder.
"That's what pretty much saved this case. Because without that, showing he was there, it's just like someone can say he was at the scene and ruin their whole life," Artheia Hilali said.
The Marietta Police Department released the following statement:
“As our investigation progressed, new information was discovered that led us to question Hilali’s involvement in the murder. This new information was vetted and found to be accurate. Our findings were reviewed with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office and the charges against Hilali were promptly rescinded. The murder investigation is still open and active.”
When police searched Mekhi's home, they said they found drugs. He was transferred to the Pauling County Jail on drug charges.
His mother told Channel 2 Action News he will be released Friday.
Cox Media Group
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