BOND DENIED FOR SOUTH DEKALB YOUTH BASEBALL COACH ARRESTED IN COLD CASE RAPE

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

State v. Elzie Fulks

Decatur, Ga.- A Lithonia man who coaches youth baseball in south DeKalb County has been denied bond after his arrest in a cold case rape from 2008.

In November 2025, a DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted Elzie Fulks, now 44, on one count of Rape and two counts of Aggravated Sodomy in connection with the attack on a 17-year-old girl in July 2008. A Grand Jury arrest warrant was issued for Fulks who was taken into custody on January 16, 2026.

In a hearing held Wednesday, March 4, 2026, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson denied Defendant Fulks's request for bond, and he is currently being held in the DeKalb County Jail.

According to the preliminary investigation, the victim told investigators that she was walking to a MARTA station when a man driving a dark colored Ford Explorer pulled over and offered to give her a ride. Instead of taking her to the train station, the man drove the teenage girl to a house where he assaulted her. The man then dropped her off near MARTA. When the teen got home, she told a family member what happened and they called 911 to report the crime. The victim underwent a sexual assault examination at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding.

In 2015, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance established the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), an effort to fund testing of previously unprocessed sexual assault kits across the country. The DeKalb DA's Office is part of the Georgia SAKI Task Force (GASAKI) created in 2018 in partnership with the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC).

Through GASAKI work, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tested the sexual assault kit, which resulted in a match to Defendant Fulks in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2018. While the crime was initially reported in Fulton County, investigators there transferred the case to DeKalb County in 2024 after reviewing the facts and circumstances.

The case will be prosecuted by the District Attorney's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Unit.

"I am proud of the diligent work of all our Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative partners who continue to ensure cases that may have previously slipped through the cracks are prosecuted," said District Attorney Sherry Boston. "It is critical that these survivors get their day in court and that the offenders are held responsible, no matter how much time has passed."

Because the case against Defendant Fulks is open and pending, the District Attorney's Office cannot offer any further comment or information at this time.