4:52 p.m. -
A juror in the corruption trial for suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis was dismissed at the end of the day Friday for hardship reasons.
The woman, identified as juror No. 12, was working a new temporary assignment when the trial began. The law requires employers to continue to pay workers on jury duty but in this case, Judge Courtney Johnson, said she could not enforce that requirement because the juror’s job was not permanent.
That leaves the jury of 12 with three alternates. The removal of juror No. 12 does not effect the trial.
The juror had said during jury selection last week that sitting on a weeks-long trial would be a problem because she had just started a job.
Johnson said she did not realize at the time the job was through a temp service. That meant the juror was only making $25 a day from DeKalb County for her service.
Johnson said she was worried that the juror’s financial state would cause her to try to work her new job in the overnight hours and then report to the courthouse each morning sleep deprived.
3:55 p.m. — The judge presiding over the corruption trial of suspended Burrell Ellis is faced with the dilemma of a juror who may have lied about her employment status when she complained that her boss was threatening to withhold pay while she was sitting on the trial.
Juror No. 12 had complained earlier in the week that she was unable to stay awake during testimony because she is working the overnight hours and reporting to the DeKalb County Courthouse at 9 a.m. daily.
Judge Courtney Johnson learned she was claiming to have a job that she did not have. She had been offered something through a staffing agency and had not worked for that particular employer since May.
The juror, questioned by the judge, said she had been working for this particular temp service about two months. But she took a drug test from the employer who was to be her next assignment and was told to come in to work just as testimony was about to begin.
“She’s still not entitled to be paid,” Johnson said in discussing options with the attorneys.
The decision was to continue with the current witness and return to the question later.
3:26 p.m. — DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis' chief of staff, Hakim Hilliard, testified Friday that Ellis didn't discuss campaign contributions during a meeting with a vendor.
The vendor from National Property Institute apologized during the October 2012 meeting for not returning Ellis’ phone calls, Hilliard said. When the vendor mentioned a contribution, Ellis said something like, “This isn’t the place to talk about campaign contributions,” Hilliard testified.
The vendor, NPI co-owner Greg Shealey, had testified Thursday that he felt pressured to contribute to save his company’s $1 million contract with the county to rehab foreclosed homes.
2:30 p.m. —The lead defense attorney for DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, Craig Gillen, told the judge in the case he wanted to ask a witness about the broad powers of Ellis' position.
Gillen said Ellis was the county’s chief executive all day, every day, and Ellis was justified in taking actions as a result of his interactions with contractors.
Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson rejected Gillen’s line of questioning.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to … ask the witness about the broad powers of the CEO,” Johnson said. “The question is whether he violated the criminal statute.”
12:32 p.m. — The one-time chief of staff to suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis said he approached his boss about his concerns that cancelling a contract after asking that vendor for a campaign contribution would be a problem.
Hakim Hilliard, on his first day in the job in October 2012, testified Friday he warned Ellis the time was bad for shutting out National Property Institute, which had a $1 million contract to rehab rundown properties. Ellis had complained that company officials were not returning his phone calls, which were to ask for a $2,500 campaign contribution.
“I was concerned about them thinking it was because of the campaign contribution” they had declined to make to Ellis’ 2012 re-election rather than their lack of responsiveness to the CEO, Hilliard testified.
12:09 p.m. — Suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis talked about getting rid of a top staffer because she argued against cutting off a vendor who had angered the county's top executive by ignoring his phone calls requesting for a campaign contribution.
Ellis said in a recording of a meeting he had with members of his staff that he was troubled that Chris Morris, DeKalb’s community development director, would argue that Ellis should give National Property Institute a second chance. Ellis had just ended a meeting with NPI co-owners Trina and Craig Shealey during which he berated them for not returning his campaign solicitation calls.
“I don’t like the way you’re coming at me, Chris,” Ellis said in the recording.
Trina Shealey had told jurors on Thursday she felt Ellis was threatening to cancel NIP’s $1 million contract to rehab rundown properties if they did not give $2,500 to his campaign.
One-time Ellis Chief of Staff Hakim Hilliard testified after the recording was played it was during that October 2012 meeting, his first day at work, that he learned Ellis’ call the the Shealeys was to ask for a political contribution.
The procurement director, Kelvin Walton, was wired during the meeting and he had made the recording played Friday.
Ellis said in the recording he had called Trina Shealey several times. Ellis said he “finally” reached her in September and “asked her if she could make a campaign contribution, which is why I called… She was trying to throw me off like I was (making) a sales call.”
Ellis said the call ended abruptly when he asked Trina Shealey when he should call back for her answer to his request for a contribution.
11:34 a.m. — After a late start to court Friday, the prosecution began with the testimony of suspended DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis' one-time chief of staff.
During his testimony, prosecutors played a recording made secretly of a meeting with Ellis and three members of his staff discussing problems the CEO had with a vendor who did not return his phone calls.
The co-owner of the company — National Property Institute — said she didn’t return all Ellis’ calls because he was asking for a political contribution to his 2012 re-election campaign.
Ellis told his staff after meeting with the owners of NPI that he was troubled that they did not return calls to the CEO of a county that had awarded them a $1 million contract to rehab run-down properties.
Please return to AJC.com for updates.
About the Author
