Jurors couldn't agree on a verdict in DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis' corruption case, where prosecutors say he threatened and intimidated contractors over political campaign contributions.
Over three weeks, the jurors heard testimony from aggrieved business owners and a government employee, former DeKalb purchasing director Kelvin Walton, who snitched on Ellis. But in the end Ellis rolled the dice and testified, surviving a withering cross examination. AJC DeKalb watchdog reporter Mark Niesse has been covering the case from beginning to end and observed the moments where both sides were strongest.
Prosecutors appeared headed for conviction when …
They played the tapes
Jurors heard Ellis’ recorded voice played back for them, over and over again, during recorded conversations as he discussed campaign solicitations from businesses.
The recordings showed Ellis mixing government business with campaign politics during discussions with contractors and his closest advisers. Walton made the covert recordings for prosecutors to avoid prosecution after he admitted lying under oath.
During those conversations, Ellis used the phrases "dry up" and "cut the contract" when talking about county contractors who wouldn't contribute to his 2012 re-election campaign. Ellis' defense attorneys argued that he didn't care about campaign contributions, but he wouldn't tolerate contractors who ignored his phone calls.
In the recordings:
- Ellis talked about how he had "a real problem" with another company that resisted giving.
- Ellis wanted to "leave alone" a vendor that had recently given $2,500 to his campaign.
- Ellis expected well-paid government employees who worked for him to contribute, saying "they're not even thinking about how they protect their jobs."
They produced compelling witnesses
Trina Shealey, the co-owner of an Ellenwood company called National Property Institute, appeared to connect with jurors when she said she believed Ellis was threatening to pull her company's $1 million contract with the county unless she donated.
She said Ellis’ calls had nothing to do with the company’s contract to rehab foreclosed homes. Instead, she said Ellis was after one thing: campaign cash.
“He was scolding us like we were kids,” Shealey said. “He said he didn’t think we should be doing business with the county, and we shouldn’t have the contract. I felt threatened at that point. I knew he was just going to pull the contract.”
Jurors came the closest to convicting Ellis on this charge, according to the jury forewoman. The vote was 11-1.
It became a tough case when…
Ellis took the stand
Ellis may have saved himself by choosing to testify.
As a polished politician and real estate lawyer, Ellis was able to speak directly to jurors in court, telling them his side of the story.
Ellis said he never punished companies for refusing to contribute to his campaign, but he expected contractors to return his phone calls.
Ellis acknowledged that he was always calling contractors to seek political donations, and he said he learned through those calls which companies the county should be doing business with.
For example, Ellis said he found out which contractors didn’t return his phone calls, delivered bad customer service, were impolite or were deceitful.
The jury kept deliberating over several days
The jury made up of 10 black women and two white women was chosen following a week of jury selection. Jurors asked questions, such as whether it was legal for Walton to record Ellis. They wanted to review documents, such as call logs that showed how many times Ellis contacted certain vendors. The longer the jurors pored over evidence — and argued over it — the less likely a conviction was forthcoming. Inevitably, the jury was unable to decide on any of the 13 counts.
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