Duo plead guilty to ticket-fixing

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Two women pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting money in exchange for getting traffic tickets dismissed.

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DeKalb County Sheriff's Department Charlene Johnson, previously employed by DeKalb County, admitted she dismissed traffic tickets in exchange for money.

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DeKalb County Sheriff's Department Sonia Williams admitted to being involved in a ticket-fixing scheme by helping find people who had been issued tickets in DeKalb.

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Charlene Nettles Johnson and Sonia Williams worked together in the scheme, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s office.

In June, eight people, including three former county employees, were named in a 37-page indictment for allegedly dismissing tickets over an eight-year period.

While employed with the county’s recorder’s court, Johnson dismissed cases in exchange for money, according to Orzy Theus with the district attorney’s office. She admitted that others helped her find drivers who were issued tickets in DeKalb.

Johnson made $20,000 during a three-year period. As part of her sentencing, she will pay $20,000 in restitution. Johnson will serve 12 months of a 20-year sentence.

Williams, owner of the Glitzy Dazzle clothing store in Stone Mountain, admitted she brought tickets to Johnson to get dismissed, Theus said. Williams either received a “finder’s fee” or gave Johnson a discount on items at Glitzy Dazzle.

Williams was sentenced to five years and ordered to pay $1,150 in restitution. She will spend 30 days in jail.

An anonymous tip first prompted the investigation into the ticket scheme, DeKalb District Attorney Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming said in June.