Two Indicted In 2014 Double Murder

The March Term, 2019, Jeff Davis County Grand Jury last week returned true bill, 7-count indictments against Robert Benjamin Brown and Brandon Dante Hardaman for the 2014 shooting death of Mondra Chambers and his mother Mary Chambers in Hazlehurst.
And the jury also returned a 6-count indictment against Christopher Thomas Hatton and Joshua Allen Eason in connection with their June, 2019, escape from the Jeff Davis County Detention Center.
Brown and Hardaman are charged with malice murder, two counts of felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Hatton and Eason are charged with aggravated assault on a public safety officer, aggravated battery on a public safety officer, obstruction of an officer, false imprisonment and two counts of escape.
On May 15, 2014, Hazlehurst Police Officers and Jeff Davis County Deputy Sheriffs responded to a residence on Harrison Nook just after 8:30 p.m. where they found Mondra Chambers, 41, and Mary L. Chambers, 64, suffering from gunshot wounds. Mondra Chambers was pronounced dead at Jeff Davis Hospital and Mary Chambers died en route to Memorial Hospital Trauma Center in Savannah.
Based on initial information and evidence collected at the scene, investigators suspected the shooting of Mondra Chambers was drug-related and that Mary Chambers was not a target of the shooting. The residence was hit with multiple gunshots by at least two black, male gunmen.
There were two small children, ages 2 and 4, and another adult in the residence at the time of the shooting.
Then-Hazlehurst Chief Steve Land said at the time a vehicle drove up to the residence, a man got out of the vehicle and went to the front door of the residence. A fight ensued between the man and one of the victims, and shots were fired. A second gunman then began firing a high-powered rifle.
The charges against the Brown were:
• Malice murder for causing the death of Mondra Chambers with a 9 mm pistol.
• Felony murder for, while in commission of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, caused the death of Mondra Chambers by shooting him with a 9 mm pistol.
• Felony murder for, while in commission of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, cause the death of Mary Chambers by shooting her with a .308 caliber rifle.
• Aggravated assault for making an assault on Cocoa Gibson with a .308 caliber rifle.
• Aggravated assault for making an assault on Mariah Gibson with a .308 caliber rifle.
• Aggravated assault for making an assault on Ma’Ki Reddish with a .308 caliber rifle.
• Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the death of Mondra Chambers.
The charges against Hardaman were the same but centered on the shooting of Mary Chambers with the .308 caliber rifle rather than the death of Mondra Chambers with the 9 mm pistol.
The indictments indicate Brown was the individual who then-Chief Land went to the front door of the Harrison Nook residence on the night of the shooting and Hardaman was the second gunman who began shooting with a high-powered rifle.
On June 13, 2019, Hatton and Eason overpowered jailers and escaped from the detention center. Sheriff Preston Bohannon said at the time that Hatton had an iron object in his hand and struck a jailer in the face, then struck another jailer, a female, down the hall and released the lock to get the two into the street.
Eason was captured right away but Hatton stayed on the loose overnight. The Sheriff’s Department received a tip that Eason had been seen on the south side of Hazlehurst and deputies captured him the next morning.
The indictment against Hatton and Eason charges the following:
• Aggravated assault on a police officer for striking jailer Eldridge Lee Pickle with a metal rod.
• Aggravated battery on a police officer for striking Officer Pickle and causing him to lose sight in his right eye.
• Obstruction of an officer, against Hatton only, for kicking a door causing Officer Monica Kea Clements to be hit and pushed against the wall.
• False imprisonment, against Eason only, by confining Officer Pickle.
• Escape against Hatton who was in confinement on a felony offense of theft by taking.
• Escape against Eason who was in confinement on a felony offense of aggravated child molestation.
In other indictments:
Jonathan Lepe was charged with two counts of sale of methamphetamine and one count of possession of methamphetamine. The sale charges were alleged to have occurred on June 25 and June 28, 2019, and the possession charge was for a July 2 incident.
Joseph Christopher Walker was indicted for aggravated assault. He is accused of putting his hands around a woman’s neck and choking her.
Anthony Hill Pittman was indicted for fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and reckless conduct for, on June 9, allegedly driving in excess of 20 miles over the speed limit at Philadelphia Church Road and Uvalda Highway to elude a Sheriff’s Deputy, and endangering the life of a passenger in his vehicle.