April 20, 2024
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A suburban Atlanta police officer has been charged with concealing the death of a teenage girl whose body was found six months after she went missing.
Gwinnett County police arrested Miles Bryant, 22, on Monday, charging him with one count of concealing the death of another and one count of false report of a crime.
In a warrant application, police said Bryant dumped Susana Morales' naked body in the woods near Dacula after the girl disappeared in July. The skeletal remains of the 16-year-old were found last week and identified based on DNA and dental records. Medical examiners are still trying to determine how she died.
The warrant says Bryant lives near Morales' last known location. It says police suspect Bryant of rape, murder, and other offenses, although the former officer has not yet been charged with those crimes.
In the warrant, police said Bryant falsely filed a police report claiming his gun was stolen after his car was broken into. That accounts for the charge of a false report of a crime.
Bryant had no prior relationship with the 16-year-old, warrants state.
Bryant remained in jail Tuesday after a judge denied him bail. The judge cited investigators’ belief that he is a danger to the community. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer representing him.
Bryant was until Monday a Doraville police officer. The city fired him after he was charged.
“The City of Doraville and its Police Department are fully cooperating with the Gwinnett Police Department in its investigation of Mr. Bryant,” Doraville spokesperson Emily Heenan said in a statement. “Our prayers rest with the family and friends of Susana Morales and everyone else affected by this tragedy.”
Morales went missing on the evening of July 26 when she was walking home from a friend’s house in Norcross, Gwinnett police have said. Detectives have said they believe Morales got into a vehicle. Her body was found more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from where she went missing.
State records show Bryant became a sheriff's deputy in Forsyth County in March 2020, resigning to become a Doraville officer in May 2021.
The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has no record of sanctions or disciplinary actions against Bryant, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
