Feliciano tried for hijacking and aggravated assault

Angel Feliciano was tried this week for an incident that occurred on October 23, 2017. Feliciano, along with two other individuals—both of which accepted plea offers from the state—was indicted on one count of hijacking and two counts of aggravated assault using a firearm. If convicted, the potential maximum years in prison totaled 60. According to the prosecutor, Houston County Assistant District Attorney Ryan English, Feliciano was offered a plea bargain, in which he would plead guilty to hijacking and serve 10 years in prison. Feliciano’s defense attorney Jeff Grube confirmed that Feliciano rejected the offer.

According to English’s argument, a victim of the crime, Nathan Wood, was working at the Ramada Inn on Watson Boulevard, at which time, the other two individuals involved in the indictment, Michael Bonamo and Curtis Croft entered the hotel and charged a phone then departed and returned to the lobby multiple times. English continued to explain that around 3 a.m. on October 23, Mike Goolsby, the other victim in the case, arrived to pick up Wood and take him home. The two were approached by Croft who asked for a ride as Bonamo got into a white Mercedes SUV with two females, and a driver, which English said was Feliciano. After Croft explained that there was a confrontation with occupants in the other vehicle and that he could not ride with them, Goolsby agreed to provide transportation for him.

English explained that Goolsby transported Wood and Croft to McDonald’s as a precautionary measure to attempt to remove Croft from the vehicle, but the McDonald’s was closed for maintenance purposes. At this time the white SUV, allegedly driven by Feliciano, entered the same parking lot. After being alerted to the closing of the store by a notice on the door, Wood, Goolsby and Croft reentered Goolsby’s truck, and Croft asked to be taken to Macon. When his request was rejected, Croft asked Goolsby to catch up with the white Mercedes SUV and drop him off with it. Goolsby obliged and followed the vehicle to the WoodCrest apartment complex in Warner Robins.

Upon arrival, English said that Croft directed the words, “Yea or nay?” to the occupants of the Mercedes. Bonamo and Feliciano exited their vehicle, and Wood and Goolsby were pulled from the truck and beaten. English said that there might be conflicting testimony as to who was in possession, but that a firearm was produced and pointed in the victims’ direction and discharged. English said that Goolsby and Wood retreated from the location, Feliciano and Bonamo left in the SUV, and that Croft reentered Goolsby’s truck and left the scene as well.

English shared that Goolsby flagged down a car and asked them to call the police and have them meet Goolsby and Wood at the Ramada Inn, where they retreated.

“But it all stems from ‘Yea or nay?’ Do you want to do this or not?” English said.

Among witnesses called by the state, was Lisa Bryant, who lived in the Woodcrest complex and heard the commotion from the incident and called law enforcement. Bryant testified that she awoke to loud arguing and that she went to the window to investigate the situation. She said she saw a struggle and two vehicles that were in such a hurry that they almost hit the back of her car exiting the parking lot. Bryant also shared that she heard a loud popping noise, which could have been a gun. Bryant said she saw at least two people, but did not see anyone’s face and that she could not give descriptions of the people she saw nor did she understand what the people were saying.

The state also called both victims, Wood and Goolsby, as well as Bonamo. As a part of his plea deal made with the state, Bonamo was required to testify. Bonamo testified that there was a drug deal involved in the incident and that he had done drugs with Wood at the Ramada Inn. It had been revealed in earlier lines of questioning with Wood and Goolsby, that both had a pending drug charge. It was also Bonamo’s testimony that Feliciano was the driver of the Mercedes SUV at the time of the incident, and he identified Feliciano to the court. Bonamo said that he had never met Feliciano before that day when Feliciano picked up Croft and Bonamo from Macon and brought them to Warner Robins. He shared that he had received a call from Feliciano and one of the females present at the time of the incident in which Feliciano asked him not to go to court and testify.

Angel Feliciano elected to take the stand. According to Feliciano, he was not present at the time of the matter in question and denied his guilt. Feliciano said that he had met Bonamo seven or eight days before the incident and that he had picked up Bonamo and Croft from a hotel in Macon and ended up dropping Bonamo and Croft off at the home of a female friend of Felicano’s in Warner Robins. Feliciano said that Bonamo was under the influence of drugs at the time and that Bonamo’s behavior made him uncomfortable. Feliciano claimed he dropped off Bonamo to separate himself from Bonamo, as well as to separate Bonamo from drugs. According to Feliciano’s testimony, Bonamo stayed at the residence for a week, toward the end of which, Feliciano and Bonamo got into an altercation regarding Bonamo stealing from his female friend. Feliciano alledged that he had a friend who drove a white Mercedes SUV, and at Feliciano’s urging (because Feliciano didn’t want to be around them), that friend transported Bonamo and Croft from the residence on the day the incident occurred.

Feliciano maintained that he had not been at the Ramada Inn leading to the incident, nor was he not there at all and did not participate in the incident. He denied transporting Croft or Bonamo anywhere. Feliciano also said that he had never seen Wood or Goolsby before and that he found out about the incident later in the morning after the event occurred.

Feliciano also confirmed that there was a phone call in which a message was relayed to Bonamo. Feliciano said that his request to Bonamo was to come to court and tell the truth. Feliciano also alleged that he relayed the same message to Croft.

Grube addressed the jury, thanking them for their service on Feliciano’s behalf. Grube spoke to the validity and motivation of Bonamo’s testimony, alleging that Bonamo could benefit from testifying concerning his sentence. Grube also suggested the idea that Wood and Goolsby could also be hoping to benefit from testifying regarding the pending drug charge against the two of them. Grube pointed out that the only person who identified Feliciano as the driver of the white SUV was Bonamo.

“When a witness comes in and either stands up or points at somebody and says that’s the person who robbed me or that’s the person who hit me, that’s pretty powerful folks,” Grube said, further noting that Bryant, Goolsby, nor Wood did that.

In his closing statement, English told the jury that he believed his case had been consistent. English also said that Grube’s argument about drugs was a red herring, meant to distract the jury from the issue at hand.

“If a drug dealer is shot and killed in Houston County you can guarantee the DA’s office is going to seek out the person who killed them and charge them with murder,” English explained. He further made the point that though it was not the best decision for Goolsby to allow Croft in his truck, it did not mean that Wood and Goolsby deserved what happened to them.

English also spoke on being a party to a crime, saying, “A party to the crime means that if Curtis Croft and Michael Bonamo committed these acts and you believe Michael Bonamo when he tells you that Angel Feliciano was with them and involved, Angel Feliciano is just a guilty. That’s a party to the crime.”

After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury reached their verdict and acquitted Feliciano of all charges.

English said that the state respected the jury’s decision. “We appreciate their service,” he said. “We appreciate the time that they devoted to the case.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the outcome, Grube stated, “The not guilty verdict is what we were looking for.”

HHJ News