Prosecutors have dropped four of the 13 charges against suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis as he prepares for a retrial that’s set to begin Monday.
DeKalb District Attorney Robert James decided not to move forward with two theft counts and two coercion counts, according to an order signed Thursday by Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson.
Ellis still faces extortion, bribery and perjury charges related to allegations that he strong-armed county contractors into giving him campaign contributions.
Ellis has pleaded not guilty, and his first trial ended in October with a hung jury that was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the counts against him. Ellis testified that he never retaliated against a contractor for refusing to make a political donation.
There was no explanation about why these four counts were dropped. A gag order in the case prevents prosecutors or Ellis’ defense attorneys from commenting.
The dismissed charges alleged that Ellis ordered county employees during work hours to create lists of vendors that he could then use to solicit campaign contributions, according to the indictment in the case.
With nine counts left pending against Ellis, his retrial may be more streamlined than the initial case, which lasted more than six weeks.
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