Thursday, September 28, 2023

State v. Vanessa Dates-Bell

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a New York woman accused of running over her boyfriend with a car.

Jurors returned guilty verdicts Wednesday against Vanessa Dates-Bell, 36, on charges of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, Aggravated Assault, Hit and Run Resulting in Serious Injury or Death and Tampering with Evidence stemming from an incident on October 21, 2020. 

According to the investigation, Defendant Dates-Bell and Tavorris Threadcraft, 25, had been arguing.  Threadcraft was walking near Fairington Road and Willowick Drive in Stonecrest around 1 a.m. when an UberEats driver struck him, which left him lying in the road.  The driver stopped and dialed 911.   

While on the phone with the dispatcher, the driver checked Threadcraft for a pulse and reported he was still alive.  Other cars stopped at the scene, but a blue car drove around those vehicles and ran over Threadcraft. The UberEats driver could be heard screaming on the 911 recording for that car to stop. After running over Threadcraft, the blue car sped off. 

First responders pronounced Threadcraft dead at the scene. 

Investigators later identified the blue car as belonging to Defendant Dates-Bell’s mother.  Defendant Dates-Bell drove the car to a friend’s house in North Carolina where she left it before fleeing to New York. 

An anonymous tipster called the DeKalb County Police Department to tell them where to find the car.  Testing revealed blood found underneath the car matched Threadcraft’s DNA.

Investigators also uncovered video of an argument between Defendant Dates-Bell and Threadcraft in which she threatened to run him over shortly before the incident. 

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Asha Jackson, who presided over the trial, sentenced Dates-Bell to 20 years to serve with 5 years to follow on probation.   

The case, assigned to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Drew Healy with assistance from Senior ADA Furhawn Shah, DA Investigator Shawna Barber, and Victim Advocate Shelbie Rainwater.  DeKalb County Police Department Detective Ingram led the initial investigation.