Retired DeKalb County Judge Cynthia Becker, indicted on Thursday, likely will turn herself in next week as she begins the process of defending herself against charges that she lied about her handling of a case involving a former school superintendent.
Becker was indicted in Cobb County on four counts of making false statements and two counts of false writings, plus misdemeanor obstruction of a Judicial Qualifications Commission investigation. She allegedly made the false statements while being interviewed at the Marietta law office of a JQC member.
Her case was assigned to Superior Court Judge Reuben Green.
Once she is arraigned, Green will set deadlines for motions, then a date will be set for Becker’s trial.
Senior Judge Conley Ingram, who a was responsible for announcing indictments on Thursday, declined to issue a bench warrant for Becker’s arrest because, he said, he was confident she would surrender. Becker’s lawyer and the special prosecutor — a district attorney from northeast Georgia — agreed on a $1,000 bond even before her indictment was made public.
According to the indictment, Becker lied when she said there had been no discussions of bond in the days immediately after she sentenced Lewis to 12 months in jail, instead of the 12 months probation called for in a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.
Lewis had been charged with racketeering, but pleaded guilty to obstructing the DeKalb district attorney’s investigation into school construction contracts. In exchange for the reduced charges, former Superintendent Crawford Lewis agreed to testify against former Chief Operating Officer Pat Reid and her ex-husband, architect Tony Pope.
When Becker sentenced Lewis in December 2013, she said she did not believe he had testified truthfully so she was not going to honor the deal.
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