Notes from the Burrell Ellis trial: Day 5 of testimony
The trial of former DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis entered its second week of testimony Monday. Ellis, suspended with pay for almost two years, is being retried on charges of extortion, bribery and perjury. Prosecutors say he tried to strong-arm county vendors into giving to his 2012 re-election campaign by threatening their lucrative contracts with DeKalb.
Ellis is being tried a second time because a jury that heard the case last fall could not agree on a verdict after 11 days of deliberations.
In court Monday:
•Eneida Robles, once an assistant office manager at Power and Energy Services in Austell, testified that Ellis called the business several times, each time becoming more agitated, trying to reach the owners. She was told to tell Ellis the business wasn't interested. "He was very angry at that point," she testified. Robles said Ellis told her he was going to call the person in charge of contracts for the county, to report that Power and Energy did not want to do business with DeKalb. "I felt worried for my job and possibly losing a contract for the company," Robles testified.
•Brandon Cummings, co-owner of Power and Energy Services, which had a contract to perform maintenance on generators, testified he told Ellis in June 2012 that his company could not afford to make a campaign contribution. Ellis called back several times in the following September. By then the District Attorney's Office had contacted Cummings and Cummings agreed to record any conversations he had with the CEO. He recorded one phone call. Cummings said he felt "threatened, intimidated (and) I guess scared" during his conversation with Ellis. "You don't know what the outcome is going to be," Cummings testified. Later, when Cummings called to schedule work because parts for routine maintenance had arrived, he said he was told his company's work with the county had been "halted."
•Jimmy Davis, a member of the special purpose grand jury, was recalled for the third time to confirm recorded testimony from Ellis. In the portion played Monday, and previously in this trial, Ellis answers "no" to a series of questions about his role in canceling or suspending vendors' contracts.
•Kelvin Walton, formerly head of contracts and purchasing for the county, was called to the stand for the fourth time in the trial to described the circumstances around secret recordings he made. The recordings of his conversations with Ellis were played for the jury. Walton wore a wire so the District Attorney's Office would not charge him with lying before a special grand jury. Ellis is heard saying companies with blanket policies of not making political contributions should not get county contracts.
Coming up:
Prosecutors will continue calling witnesses on Tuesday.
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