Drug possession charges recently filed against a woman shortly after she accused a North Georgia judge of propositioning her will soon be dropped, a GBI agent said Thursday.
"It's the right thing to do," GBI Special Agent James Harris said. "It needs to happen as soon as possible."
Early this month, Angela Garmley, 36, of Chatsworth, publicly accused then-Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran of Murray County of asking her to be his mistress when she appeared before him in his office in April. She said Cochran told her he wanted a mistress he could trust and to return in a few days wearing a dress but no underwear. In a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Garmley said she did not comply with the alleged request.
Cochran has denied Garmley's allegations.
Last week, only a few days after being interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Garmley was arrested after a deputy pulled over the car she was riding in, saying the driver had not dimmed the car's bright lights. According to a police report, the deputy, with the help of a drug dog, found what was believed to be crystal methamphetamine in a magnet box under the car.
Garmley was arrested for drug possession, jailed and later released on bond. Her lawyer, McCracken Poston, said Garmley knew nothing about the drugs and called for an investigation, suggesting the drugs had been planted under Garmley's vehicle.
Late Thursday, Poston said of the recent announcement by the GBI, "Obviously, my client is relieved. She still firmly believes that operatives of former Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant Cochran were behind this, motivated by a desire to punish her for coming forward. ... Murray County citizens should be outraged that this can happen in this day and time."
Cochran resigned last week in the face of an investigation by the state judicial watchdog agency. The Judicial Qualifications Commission filed papers with the Georgia Supreme Court saying it had been investigating Cochran for pre-signing arrest warrants that were to be filled out by law enforcement officers when he was not in his office and for using the prestige of his judgeship for personal gain.
After Poston said Garmley had been set up after coming forward with allegations against Cochran, the local district attorney asked the GBI to look into the circumstances of her arrest.
Cochran's lawyer, Christopher Townley, has called accusations that Garmley was set up to be "silliness." He also said he believed Garmley had "substantial credibility issues."
Late Thursday, Harris, one of the GBI agents called in to investigate the case, said the GBI obtained information that led the agency to believe all charges against Garmley should be dropped.
Harris did not say whether anyone would face charges. He did say, however, "This is only a small part of what's going to be happening."
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