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Written by: A. Smith
Published February 13, 2026 @ 10:40 AM ET
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – A former DeKalb County police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to shooting and killing an unarmed man in 2022.
Russell Mathis, 32, pleaded guilty in the Nov. 4, 2022, killing of Marando Salmon, 37.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office said Mathis and another officer responded to a report of a stolen car at a home on Autumn Crest Court in Stone Mountain. While clearing out the home, they encountered Salmon in a dark room.
Salmon threw a phone at Mathis, which Mathis said he believed was a knife. Mathis opened fire, killing Salmon.
Salmon was unarmed at the time of the shooting, though a holstered gun was later found in the bedroom, prosecutors said.
Mathis entered a negotiated Alford plea to charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea in which the defendant maintains their innocence but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence that the case would likely result in a conviction.
He was sentenced to two years of house arrest and eight years of probation. He must also serve 500 hours of community service, pay more than $4,700 in restitution to Salmon’s family to cover funeral and burial expenses, and has agreed to permanently give up his Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council certification.
The judge granted Mathis’s request to be sentenced under the First Offender Act, which means the record of his conviction will be sealed if he successfully completes his sentence.