Suspect in 2018 homicide ‘gave himself up’ by sharing details with others, DA says

ALBANY — Police and prosecutors would have a much easier job if they could rely on a dependable cast of Boy Scouts and clergy members to identify suspects and provide evidence in criminal cases.

But operating in the real world, they often have to depend on a cast of characters who themselves often have criminal issues in their past.

It was against that backdrop that the Albany Police Department was able to recently charge a suspect in a 2-year-old murder case.

Investigators had some physical evidence in the murder of Dharmisthaben Patel in late 2018, but it was only about three weeks ago that they gained corroborating evidence from a witness, Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards said.

Patel, 33, was fatally shot during a carjacking attempt in the parking lot of the Devi’s convenience store she managed on the night of Nov. 10, 2018. A mother of two, Patel was in the passenger seat of a car driven by her husband, who attempted to elude the would-be carjacker.

The gunman, who was dressed in dark clothing with a hoodie and wearing a mask and gloves, was caught on video surveillance walking into the 1400 Palmyra Road parking lot. In the surveillance video, the suspect is seen attempting to open the driver’s door of the couple’s car and firing a handgun into the vehicle.

Patel was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.

Police have charged Bernardo Litic Thompson in the slaying. Thompson, 31, who was taken into custody on Feb. 2 in Tift County, is charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, police said.

Edwards did not provide details about the witness who came forward about three weeks ago, but the district attorney said that witness did provide crucial evidence in the case.

That person was not a witness to the shooting but did offer other valuable information, Edwards said, noting that, at some time after the shooting, Thompson related details about the crime to others.

“The witness is not a suspect in this case,” the district attorney said. “However, (Thompson) made some representations about his activities (while he was) at another location,” the same night, Edwards added. “The Devi’s case entailed the defendant — his activities immediately after the crime is what was discovered and that’s (when) he represented what he had done. Essentially he gave himself up.”

Police had obtained other evidence in the case that was substantiated by the witness’ account.

“There will be other forensics coming forward, and we’ve got it ready for the grand jury and ready to go to trial,” the district attorney said. “We have sufficient information to move forward with the arrest and prosecution.”

Edwards said he is not certain when a grand jury can be empaneled to hear the case against Thompson.

Currently gatherings of grand juries and jurors for trials are suspended in the state due to the high number of COVID-19 cases.

The district attorney said he expects another arrest in coming days in a second high-profile cold case.

“I’m hoping we’ll be able to announce that shortly,” said Edwards, who added he could not identify the particular case at this time. “I give the credit to the police department for solving these cases.”

Special PhotoFile Photo: Carlton Fletcher