4:03 p.m. — At their request, jurors hearing the corruption trial of suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis stopped their deliberations for the day shortly after 4 p.m. and they will return Wednesday morning to hear two recordings.
The jury asked specifically to hear again secret recordings made on Sept. 28 and Oct. 25.
They will be back at 9 a.m.
1:11 p.m. — The jury deciding the corruption case against suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis is back at work after taking an hour break for lunch.
By the time they stopped deliberating at noon, the jury had spent four hours over two days reviewing the evidence and testimony and another 40 minutes watching — again — the video of Ellis’ testimony before a special purpose grand jury in January 2013. It was that testimony that is the basis for three counts of perjury. He is also facing 10 charges of extortion, theft by taking, bribery and using government workers for political purposes.
The jury told the judge Monday they wanted to stop work by 5 p.m. if they still don’t have a decision.
12:01 p.m. — The jury deliberating the fate of suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis has taken a lunch break and will be back at 1 p.m.
10:17 a.m. — Moments after the jurors returned to their deliberations, one of the attorneys for Burrell Ellis told the judge that the suspended DeKalb CEO and his family had had a chance encounter with a juror in the parking deck after court Monday evening.
Their cars were parked side-by-side and the Ellis’ car was preventing the juror from getting into hers. Ellis wife apologized to the woman and it was minutes later that her sister-in-law pointed out that she had just spoken to a juror.
Neither Judge Courtney Johnson nor District Attorney Robert James thought the encounter violated the rules that participants in the trial have no contact with jurors.
The jury resumed deliberations after watching the video recording of Ellis’ January 2013 testimony before a special purpose grand jury that are the basis for the three perjury charges.
9:37 a.m. — Jurors in the corruption trial of Burrell Ellis are reviewing the video recording of the suspended DeKalb County CEO's January 2013 testimony before a special grand jury, testimony that led to the three perjury counts.
The jurors had asked at the end of the day Monday to have another look at the 41-minute video first thing Tuesday morning.
The indictment says Ellis lied to the grand jury investigating the Department of Watershed Management when he said he never ordered work withheld from a vendor because the vendor did not return telephone calls and that he did not tell the county purchasing director to cut off county business with a vendor. The indictment also says Ellis committed perjury when he told the special grand jury, “I don’t get involved in who gets work and who doesn’t get work,” and, “I don’t make the call to not give people work.”
A few of the jurors took notes but most of them simply watched the video that was played on three screens in the courtroom.
9:03 a.m. — A jury resumed deliberations Tuesday morning in the corruption trial of DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis.
The jury began its day by reviewing a video of Ellis as he spoke to a special grand jury on Jan. 7, 2013. His statements, made under oath, that he didn’t decide to cut county work from contractors, are the basis of perjury charges.
Jurors discussed the case for about two hours Monday, and they’ll continue deliberations until they reach a decision.
Ellis is accused of threatening to stop doing business with county contractors unless they contributed to his 2012 re-election campaign.
He has pleaded not guilty to 13 crimes, including bribery, theft, extortion and perjury.
The 12-person jury and three alternates include 11 black women, two white women and two black men.
About the Author
