Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, accused of shooting and critically injuring a woman at a model home in Gwinnett County a year ago this week, will go on trial in mid-June, Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.
Hill, 51, is facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct for shooting Paran Realty broker Gwenevere McCord in the stomach. Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Randy Rich will hear the case.
The incident occurred last May 3 while Hill was visiting McCord, a friend, at a model home in Lawrenceville. He was allegedly showing her police maneuvers when the shooting occurred. Hill as well as McCord and her family have stated the shooting was an accident.
McCord, who reportedly lost a kidney, spleen and part of her large intestine as a result of the shooting, is expected to testify at the trial.
Efforts to reach Hill’s attorney, Mike Puglise, and McCord were unsuccessful early Monday afternoon.
“She’s still agreed to testify,” Porter said, noting she already has given two statements about the incident to authorities.
“She talked about what happened, the gun went off,” Porter said. “Her memory, like many trauma victims, gets a little sketchy after that.”
Since the shooting, McCord has sought a job in Hill's office but ultimately was not hired and she endorsed him for another term as sheriff in a robocall released in March to Clayton residents. Hill is running for a third term as sheriff in the May 24 primary. (Hill's challengers are Clarence Cox III, former security chief of Clayton Public Schools; retired Georgia State trooper Dwayne Fabian; Grantville police officer Chris Pigors; and Satira Walker, who recently retired from the Clayton Police Department.)
McCord’s father, Ernest, said his daughter decided against going after the sheriff’s offfice job.
“I don’t believe she is working,” Porter said.
Hill’s two terms in office have been shrouded in controversy.
On his first day in office in his first term, Hill fired 27 deputies who later sued for wrongful termination. They won their jobs back and settled for $7 million which was paid by Clayton County. During the final weeks of his first term, Hill filed for bankruptcy, partly because of the money he owed in damages for lawsuits against him. In 2013, Hill was acquitted of racketeering charges related to his use of a county-issued credit card.
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