A former Cobb County attorney was disbarred Monday and jailed Wednesday, after he admitted to stealing $75,000 from a client’s settlement in February 2017, according to court documents.

Richard Vinson Merritt faces felony elder abuse, theft, exploitation and check fraud charges.

He was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.

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Students Taken to Hospital After Drinking Detergent

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A rustic sign on Ponce de Leon Avenue at the city's edge read “Welcome to Atlanta” on one side and “Leaving Atlanta” on the other side. The sign stood at the edge of the Olmsted Linear Park next to a city-limits marker and might have been updated over the years. (Kimberly Smith/AJC Archive at GSU Library 1993)

Credit: AJC Archive at GSU Library

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An aerial view captures a large area under construction for a new data center campus on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Developed by QTS, the data center campus near Fayetteville is one of the largest under construction in Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez