Prosecutors and defense attorneys were in Clayton Superior Court on Friday to resolve any pending issues before Sheriff Victor Hill goes on trial Monday, including the possible dismissal of four of the remaining 32 felony charges against him.
As the courthouse readies for about 350 prospective jurors who are to begin reporting Monday, there are a few motions pending that Judge Albert Collier will have to settle.
Hill is charged with 32 counts that include racketeering, theft by taking, influencing a witness and violation of his oath of office, all related to his first term as sheriff, Jan. 1, 2005 through Dec. 31, 2008. Hill won back the office last year, defeating the man who had taken the job from him four years earlier.
Hill’s lawyers have asked Collier to dismiss four of the remaining 26 theft charges because the alleged crimes happened more than four years before the sheriff was indicted in January 2012. They argue the deadline for filing those charges, under the statute of limitations, had passed. He also is still charged with two counts of racketeering.
Those four theft counts accuse Hill of requiring required on-duty Sheriff’s Office employees to help with two fundraisers for Hill’s failed 2008 campaign, The Sheriff Victor Hill’s Biker Festival on May 19, 2007, and the Sheriff Victor Hill Annual Golf Tournament on September, 19,2007.
Last fall, Collier dismissed five of the original 37 charges, two counts of racketeering and three counts of theft by taking that involved money for his political campaign. Hill’s lawyers had argued successfully that the money in his campaign account belonged to him and therefore Hill could not steal from himself.
The judge has not decided, however, if those now-dismissed charges concerning campaign funds can be used at trial as examples of “similar transactions” to show a pattern. That is another unresolved issue before Collier.
Special Assistant District Attorney Layla Zon, the district attorney in Coweta and Newton Counties who is prosecuting Hill, has asked Collier to put some limits on Hill to stop or prevent activity she fears could taint the jury pool.
She argues that Hill must stop his "robo" calls to Clayton County residents with good wishes or invitations to enroll in his security programs and he must remove a table set up in the courthouse lobby to recruit people to subscribe to his cellphone alert system. Zon also will ask the judge to tell Hill he cannot wear his uniform or badge or bring his weapon to court and that Sheriff's Office employees cannot wear their uniforms in the courtroom if they are not on duty and assigned to provide security.
The other charges against Hill accuse him of using county-issued cards and cars for vacations, counting one of his employees as on administrative leave or out sick so she could travel with him, influencing a witness and violating his oath of office.
If the four counts are dropped, that will leave Hill charged with 28 felonies.
About the Author
