The Clayton County District Attorney’s Office will not pursue grand jury charges against Jonesboro Mayor Donya Sartor over aggravated assault and “quid pro quo” allegations.
The office said that a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe did not find evidence that backed accusations that Sartor pointed a gun at a Jonesboro police officer or that the mayor offered a fulltime job to a candidate for the city’s police department in exchange for a campaign donation.
In a statement, Sartor said she welcomed the outcome of the investigation.
“As elected officials, our actions and our deeds are public record, and we will continue to provide transparency and accountability to our citizens,” she said.
According to Brian Busch, chief investigator of the Clayton D.A.’s office, the GBI received a request to investigate Sartor in September after she was accused of criminal activity by Jonesboro Police Lt. Godreque Newsom and Solomon Carter, a candidate for a position on the city’s police force.
Newsom accused Sartor of pointing a gun at him during an Aug. 29 meeting “in a threatening manner before ultimately putting the weapon in her purse.” But the GBI’s investigation concluded that Sartor only moved the gun from a desk drawer to her purse, Busch said in a Nov. 27 memo declining to bring the accusations before a Clayton grand jury.
“The question for consideration by this office in this matter is to determine if it was done with criminal intent to threaten or make an assault upon the person of Lt. Newsom,” Busch wrote in the memo. “The investigation revealed no evidence of such an intent. Clearly the mayor’s decision to move the handgun at that time showed a lack of judgment and general firearm safety, but there is insufficient evidence to indicate she acted in a criminal manner.”
Busch said the GBI also found no evidence backing the claim by Carter that Sartor requested a “quid pro quo” deal for a fulltime position with the department if he gave her a campaign donation.
Carter, who is a member of the police department’s reserves, alleged in his August complaint that the mayor sent several electronic requests for donations after they spoke about a fulltime job for him. However, the GBI said the requests were part of generic campaign donation solicitations sent to multiple parties in text messages.
“The GBI investigation indicated that Mayor Sartor stated a number of reasons why she decided not to employ Carter in a fulltime position,” Busch said.
Neither Newsom or Carter could immediately be reached for comment.
