ATLANTA — The family of the man accused of stabbing a stranger to death on the Beltline says they spent years trying to prevent this type of tragedy.
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Channel 2’s Michael Seiden went through years of court records and found a judge revoked the suspect’s probation just months before this deadly attack.
A growing memorial now marks the spot where 29-year-old Ramon Harris was killed, and extra officers are patrolling the Beltline.
Atlanta Police released bodycam footage Tuesday of Jonathan Hamby’s arrest. He is accused of fatally stabbing Harris on Sunday afternoon.
This was far from Hamby’s first violent encounter with the criminal justice system.
Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement that Hamby had 30 prior arrests and a history of mental illness, “raising serious questions about how someone with that record was once again in a position to endanger the public.”
“We spent years desperately fighting a broken system to prevent this exact tragedy from happening,” a family member said.
In August 2024, Hamby pleaded guilty to carrying a weapon within a school safety zone.
He was sentenced to 10 years, with two in custody and the rest on probation.
He was ordered to complete anger management and a mental health evaluation. A delinquency report followed, and in March Hamby admitted to the allegations.
A DeKalb County judge revoked his probation for 12 months and again ordered him to provide proof of a mental health evaluation within 30 days of his release.
Court records show Hamby was released in May but never provided that proof.
Three months later he was back in handcuffs, his time accused of murder.
Violence goes back even further: In 2017, he was accused of stabbing a man multiple times at a homeless camp.
He later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.
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