Man Convicted in Anti-Trans Murder Is On the Run After Being Released on Bond by Republican-Appointed Judge Despite Objections

A Georgia man convicted of murdering a transgender woman was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole on Wednesday but was not in court to learn his fate because he jumped bail.

Last month, Judge Nora Polk, who was appointed to her current position by Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022, found Davonte Fore, 26, and Jaquan Brooks, 25, guilty of shooting and killing Skyler Gilmore in her Stone Mountain apartment in June 2021, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

Both Fore and Brooks were apparently in a gang that ordered the killing because another member was seeing Gilmore.

Despite the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office objecting to Judge Polk allowing bail, Fore posted $25,000 and has not returned to the trial since. Investigators said he may have fled to California since he has ties to the state.

"Personally, I don't think he's supposed to have been out on a $25,000 bond on a murder case, but he was, and I understand that, but I'm hoping that the people get him, and they get him fast," Gilmore's father, Chauncey, told FOX 5 Atlanta.

Fore was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole plus 10 years for a possession charge and 5 years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, which will be served consecutively.

Investigators warned people not to approach Fore, who might be desperate, and to instead contact the Fugitive Unit at the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.