PhD student mistakenly jailed for 30 days because he shares the same name as shooting suspect

ATLANTA (Gray News) – A PhD student spent 30 days in an Atlanta jail for a crime he didn't commit, thanks to a case of what he says is mistaken identity.

Ladavious McNair, 32, told WXIA he was mistakenly arrested because he shares the same name as the real suspect in a road rage shooting.

WANF reports that McNair, a PhD student at Clark Atlanta University and an Army veteran, was freed from jail on Nov. 1 after spending 30 days there.

He walked out of Fulton County Jail into the arms of his fiancée.

"No one should have to deal with this. No one should ever have to deal with this. Especially in 2024 in America," McNair told reporters outside of the jail.

The case started in November of 2023 when Atlanta police responded to a road rage shooting. Court documents said the victim was hit in the head with a gun and then shot in the knee by the other driver.

According to WANF, McNair's car was in the area near the shooting and matched the description given to police.

However, McNair's defense attorney Marsha Mignott said his car was in the area because the incident happened near Clark Atlanta University, where McNair is a student. His attorney said McNair was in class when the shooting happened.

"My client was in class. He's a PhD candidate. He's a doctoral candidate on the date of the incident," Mignott said.

McNair had warrants out for his arrest for nearly a year without knowing.

On Oct. 2 of this year, McNair was arrested in Clayton County before being transferred to the Fulton County Jail on Oct. 4, where he stayed until Nov. 1, according to his attorneys.

On Oct. 30, the victim in the road rage shooting said they were not confident that McNair was the gunman.

In court documents acquired by WANF, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis signed off on a motion asking the judge not to prosecute the charges against McNair.

"Despite the state being able to place the defendant's phone and his vehicle in the area of the shooting, the state no longer believes that it can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt due to the change in the victim's certainty of his identification of the defendant as the shooter," the motion states.

On Nov. 1, McNair was released from jail.

WXIA reports that the case is one of mistaken identity, and that another man named Ladavious McNair is the suspected shooter.

The PhD student is asking the real shooter to turn himself in.

McNair will graduate from Clark Atlanta University in May.