Ex-prosecutor charged with 33 theft counts

A former assistant district attorney in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit is facing 33 counts of theft by taking in connection with missing court fines and fees, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Officials began investigating Samuel Elias Skelton, 32, in August 2015 after the Banks County Sheriff’s Office found irregularities in the evidence room regarding Skelton, GBI spokesman Scott Dutton said. Sheriff Carlton Speed shared those irregularities with District Attorney Brad Smith and the GBI was requested to investigate.

Skelton was indicted June 2, and surrendered to the sheriff’s office a week later, Dutton said. He was released on bond from the Banks County jail.