A judge Thursday denied a request for a new trial by Pat Reid, the former chief operating officer for DeKalb County schools who was convicted for manipulating construction contracts.
She and her architect ex-husband, Tony Pope, will continue serving their sentences. A jury found them guilty in November 2013, with Reid sentenced to 15 years in prison and Pope to 12 years.
“The evidence was more than sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of the crimes for which she was convicted,” wrote DeKalb Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams. “The weight of the evidence was heavily in favor of the verdict.”
Reid and Pope had been released in December because former Superior Court Judge Cynthia Becker had found that they had been convicted on testimony that wasn’t truthful.
The Georgia Court of Appeals overturned Becker's decision, and the case landed before Adams because Becker has retired. Adams ordered them back to prison last month.
Reid argued that former DeKalb Superintendent Crawford Lewis’ wasn’t truthful when he testified against her. Lewis reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a misdemeanor just before the trial began.
But Adams’ order said Reid might well have been convicted anyway.
“Even excluding the testimony of Dr. Lewis altogether, the evidence in the form of testimony, documents and emails is more than sufficient to sustain defendant’s convictions,” Adams wrote.
Reid and Pope were found guilty of manipulating contracts worth $1.4 million, of which Pope was paid $150,000 he wasn’t entitled to receive.
Pope is trying to file an appeal even though a deadline has passed, and Adams ordered him to appear in court July 22.
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