A former Gwinnett County commissioner whose bribery indictment was dismissed last month by the Georgia Court of Appeals because of a technicality could be reindicted Thursday.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter has said he will present the case against Kevin Kenerly to a grand jury at 1 p.m. and seek a new indictment.
Kenerly was indicted last October by a special purpose grand jury, following a 10-month probe into the county's questionable park land purchases. That investigation, prompted by a series of Atlanta Journal-Constitution articles, revealed that commissioners had overpaid millions of dollars for parcels of land in deals that benefited associates.
Kenerly was charged with one felony count of bribery for accepting or agreeing to accept $1 million in bribes from a prominent developer in exchange for facilitating one deal. He was also charged with two counts of failing to disclose a financial interest in properties he voted to rezone.
Kenerly's attorney, Pat McDonough, appealed the indictment, contending that under Georgia law the special purpose grand jury did not have the authority to indict his client. The appellate court agreed in a decision handed down July 6. The court said the purpose of forming such citizen panels is only to investigate, not indict.
On July 19, Porter filed a motion asking for the court to reconsider. But in the meantime, he is proceeding with seeking a new indictment from a general purpose grand jury.
Kenerly has repeatedly denied the allegations in the special purpose grand jury report.
He has the option of testifying Thursday before the grand jury, but he would have to sign a waiver and agree to submit to cross-examination by prosecutors, Porter said. He also would not be allowed to hear the evidence against him.
Porter said Wednesday he had not been notified whether Kenerly would appear.
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