The trial of former DeKalb County Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton has been rescheduled again.
It’s now set for August.
Barnes Sutton — who has not been a commissioner since 2016 — was arrested by FBI agents in May 2019 and charged with bribery and extortion. Indictments accuse her taking a total of $1,000 in bribes from a subcontractor working on a project that documents suggest was the county’s renovation of the Snapfinger Creek Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Those activities allegedly took place in 2014.
Barnes Sutton and her legal team attempted to have her indictment dismissed in Sept. 2019. The effort failed and, about a month later, Barnes Sutton’s attorney withdrew from the case because the former commissioner was unable to continue paying for his services.
A public defender was appointed to the case and the original trial date of Feb. 2020 was pushed back to May 2020.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and the trial was delayed several more times.
An order filed last week by U.S. District Judge Mark A. Cohen sets a new start date of Aug. 16.
Barnes Sutton also faces separate allegations from the DeKalb County ethics board, which recently resumed operations after a nearly three-year hiatus. It was the ex-commissioner’s lawsuit that led to a 2018 Georgia Supreme Court ruling deeming the appointment process for certain ethics board members unconstitutional.
The issue wasn’t reconciled until voters approved a new referendum last November.
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