The special-purpose grand jury began its work in April 2011. Since then indictments have been returned against:
• John Lampl – former Morrow City Council member and former Morrow city manager, accused of a false statement and conspiracy with regard to the failed Olde Towne Morrow development. Charges pending.
• Sheriff Victor Hill. Six of 37 felony counts were dismissed. Prosecutors dropped six. Jury acquitted him on 25.
• Linton Herbert Etheridge, a former Clayton Water Authority manager. He pleaded guilty to lying to a grand jury. Sentenced to five years probation.
• Jonathan Newton, a former Hill spokesman for Hill. He is charged with 12 felonies. His case is pending.
• Beatrice Powell, a former Clayton County Jail officer. She is charged with perjury and theft by taking. Her case is pending.
The special grand jury investigated:
• Former Lovejoy Mayor Joe Murphy and five others for allegedly casting illegal votes in the 2007 city elections. He resigned and promised to never run for public office again. No charges brought.
• The former finance director, former county manager, a former commissioner and two sitting commissioners for their spending.
• Suspended Clayton County police chief and his brother for amount they were paid for work on a court program.
In-depth coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has provided breaking news and in-depth analysis on the racketeering case against Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill since his 2012 indictment.
With the acquittal of Sheriff Victor Hill, some in Clayton County are questioning the purpose of investigations by the special grand jury that led to charges against the lawman and other officials.
Throughout Hill’s trial on racketeering and theft charges, defense attorneys repeatedly said the special-purpose grand jury — which can investigate but cannot indict — was empaneled for political purposes.
The sheriff’s supporters are continuing that argument even as the special grand jury continues to look at several elected and appointed Clayton officials.
“It has not served its purpose,” said local NAACP President Synamon Baldwin.
District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said Friday she expected the special grand jury to issue a report within six to eight weeks and then it will be terminated, almost 2 1/2 years after Clayton County’s chief judge assigned it to investigate suspected public corruption at Lawson’s request.
So far that work has led to criminal charges against five people. One of them, Hill, was acquitted and one person has pleaded guilty. Charges against three others are pending, and the grand jury has collected and sent subpoenas regarding at least six other county officials.
While the work of the grand jury played a role in some of last year’s elections, Hill was elected despite the 37 felony charges that were pending against him at the time.
Baldwin echoed the claim made by Hill’s defense attorneys that the case was politically motivated and should never have been brought.
To the contrary, former Clayton DA Bob Keller said, a case should be brought despite claims of politics if there is evidence to support it, especially if it has been vetted by a special grand jury and a regular grand jury before it went to trial.
“When you have evidence that a crime has been committed you have to present it,” said Keller, who now sits on the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. “There are always going to be ramifications. If the verdict had come back guilty there would still be those who contend there was political motivations. This is our system.”
And these cases are often unpopular, said former Dougherty County District Attorney Ken Hodges, who helped in the prosecution of former DeKalb Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, convicted of murdering the man who defeated him in an election. “Public corruption cases need to be brought regardless of feelings about whether you like someone or dislike someone.”
The problem with public corruption cases is “people come in with preconceived notions. People are not always honest in their answers in jury selection,” Hodges said.
Still, Lawson should continue to push the other cases, Hodges said.
The special grand jury that that investigated Hill and the others was to have ended its work last fall but asked the judge for more time. Its report was delayed again, Lawson said, because of the Hill trial.
“The report they’re going to issue isn’t favorable to certain people and we didn’t want to improperly taint the jury pool with it,” she said. “It appears the special-purpose grand jury is going to be terminated within the next four to six weeks.”
So far the work of that special grand jury has led to charges against:
• John Lampl, former Morrow City Council member and city manager, who is charged with eight felonies concerning the failed Olde Towne Morrow development. The Georgia Court of Appeals is considering an issue raised in his case, so he has not gone to trial.
• Linton Herbert Etheridge, a former Clayton Water Authority manager, pleaded guilty last year to lying to a grand jury about awarding a landscaping contract to a company that employed his son. He was sentenced to five years probation.
• Jonathan Newton, Hill’s former spokesman, is charged with 12 felonies, some similar to those Hill was found not guilty on. Newton allegedly worked on Hill’s 2008 re-election campaign and the sheriff’s autobiography during county work hours.
•Former Clayton County jail officer Beatrice Powell is charged with three counts of perjury and one of theft for claiming sick pay for the days she was vacationing with Hill. Hill was acquitted of similar charges.
No charges were ever brought, however, against Lovejoy Mayor Joe Murphy and five others, including three relatives, who were investigated for allegedly casting illegal votes in the 2007 city elections. In return, he resigned and promised to never again run for public office.
The grand jury still has on its plate concerns about the spending of former finance director Angela Jackson, former county manager Wade Starr, former Commissioner Wole Ralph and sitting commission members Sonna Singleton and Gail Hambrick.
Where the special grand jurors are on the investigation, however, is not known because grand jury proceedings are secret, which leads some to see it as a shadowy entity.
“They need to be more forthcoming about what this special-purpose grand jury is trying to do,” Baldwin said. “They spent all this money and they found the man (Hill) not guilty. It was a waste of taxpayer money.”
But Keller, the former DA, said,while the cost should not be discounted, investigations should not discounted because of how much they will cost, either.
“Justice is not cheap,” he said. “You can’t ignore cost. At the same time, if there is corruption, how do you put a price on it?”
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