Minister suing Kathryn Johnston estate for $500K

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By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A judge Friday denied an Atlanta minister's request to stop the family of Kathryn Johnston, the 92-year-old woman killed by police in 2006 in a botched drug raid, from spending the settlement awarded by the city.

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Rev. Markel Hutchins discusses his lawsuit against the estate of Kathryn Johnston. Johnston was killed in a botched police raid and Hutchins says he's owed 10 percent of the $4.9 million settlement.

Alexis Stevens, apstevens@ajc.com Rev. Markel Hutchins discusses his lawsuit against the estate of Kathryn Johnston. Johnston was killed in a botched police raid and Hutchins says he's owed 10 percent of the $4.9 million settlement.

Family photo, Special Kathryn Johnston, 92, was shot and killed Nov. 21, 2006, when police officers illegally raided her northwest Atlanta home.

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W.A. Bridges Jr., AJC Police officers burst into Kathryn Johnston's house (left). She was killed in a hail of bullets after firing a shot.

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The Rev. Markel Hutchins contends there was a verbal agreement that would he would get 10 percent of any award granted to Johnston's estate, represented by her niece, Sarah Dozier. The estate was awarded a $4.9 million settlement, $3 million of which was paid immediately following the 2010 agreement. But Hutchins was never paid a dime.

Hutchins is now suing Johnston's estate for nearly $490,000 and sought Friday to have a judge halt the family or its law firm from any further spending. But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Doris Downs denied the request for the temporary restraining order, stating that Hutchins and his attorney, Foy Devine, have other legal options available for pursuing the money.

"I began serving Kathryn Johnston's family the very evening of her death," Hutchins said Friday afternoon following the hearing. "I was there for them every step of the way."

Hutchins said Dozier agreed to the 10 percent compensation long before the settlement was reached. But the attorney for Johnston's family, William Hill Jr., said no such agreement was ever in place.

"It has got to be in writing," Hill said in the courtroom. "There ain't no writing in which Miss Dozier agrees to pay Mr. Hutchins. Mr. Hutchins offered to speak on behalf of the Neal Street community. She never had a conversation about paying him."

Hutchins contends that his service to the family was invaluable, in that he addressed the media and advised the family throughout the ordeal. Hutchins and his attorney vowed to continue fighting for fair compensation, both said Friday.

"I served as the family and estate's spokesperson, strategist, advisor and consultant with a clear understanding of how I would be compensated," Hutchins said in a statement Thursday night. "My staff and I holistically managed the public and private efforts that made the significant settlement possible and yielded Mrs. Johnston's heirs millions of dollars."

Hutchins sent Dozier a bill to receive payment for his work, but has not received any money. Johnston's estate was closed through probate court earlier this year, a move Hutchins and his attorney contend should not have happened due to the debt owed.

Johnston was killed in November 2006 when a police drug unit tried to execute a "no-knock" warrant on her home using information from an informant. Johnston got a gun and fired a shot when officers kicked in her door. Police shot back and killed her. When no drugs were found in her home, officers planted evidence that had been recovered from another raid, investigations revealed.

Four officers were sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to violate Johnston's civil rights.

-- Dispatch editor Angel K. Brooks contributed to this article.