Gwinnett County

After DA drops case, Gwinnett County woman shot by neighbor pushes for justice

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GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett County chapter of the NAACP is joining forces with a woman to demand justice after her neighbor shot her during a confrontation over loud music in 2023.

Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson reports the District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case earlier this year.

It’s been nearly two years since Jalyne Evans-Jones was shot by a neighbor over loud music. Evans-Jones and her husband Eric Jones are demanding justice and new investigation into the case that haunts them.

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“It makes me want to give up, and I don’t want to give up because I have fight in me,” Evans-Jones said.

Nearly two years after being shot through a door by a her neighbor, Alejandro Querales-Morales, she still can barely use her right and and wrist.

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At a news conference with the NAACP, she said she can never fully heal without getting justice.

“I’m here today seeking justice for what I consider to be a travesty,” Evans-Jones said.

The shooting at the Veranda Chase Apartments near Lawrenceville happened in August 2023.

Evans-Jones and her husband went to their upstairs neighbor’s door at about 10 p.m. to ask him to turn the volume of his loud music down.

“The music stopped, I heard a racking of a gun and suddenly a bullet shot through door, striking my wife,” Jones said.

Gwinnett County police say Querales-Morales fired a single shot through his closed door. He told police he though Jones had a gun, but Jones said he was unarmed.

Police charged Querales-Morales with reckless conduct, but prosecutors dropped the case in January, saying he had acted in self-defense.

“District attorneys are supposed to protect the people, not belittle them, not ignore them and certainly not silence them,” Edward Paul, Gwinnett Co. NAACP President, said.

On Thursday, the Gwinnett Co. NAACP asked the Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr to reopen the case, but the AG’s office told Channel 2 Action News they don’t have the jurisdiction to prosecute the case.

Still, Evans-Jones said she’s not done fighting for a new investigation.

“To be treated by the justice system as if I was a criminal or as if I didn’t matter is outrageous,” she said.

In a statement, Gwinnett County DA Patsy Austin Gatson said “based upon the findings of our investigation, we will not be prosecuting this case. We are thankful that Mrs. Evans-Jones is alive.”

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