Continuing coverage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will provide the latest developments from suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis’ retrial as it continues. You can find video and audio reports, interactive online features and updates from the retrial at myAJC.com.
Notes from the Burrell Ellis trial: Day 11 of testimony
The fate of DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis will be in the hands of a jury Wednesday.
Both the prosecution and the defense have finished presenting evidence, and they will deliver closing arguments Wednesday morning.
The DeKalb County CEO has been suspended with pay since he was indicted two years ago on charges of extortion, bribery and perjury. Prosecutors say he tried to strong-arm county vendors into giving to his 2012 re-election campaign by threatening their lucrative contracts with DeKalb.
This is Ellis' second trial on the charges. Last fall, the first one ended in a mistrial because jurors couldn't agree on a verdict after 11 days of deliberations.
In court Tuesday
Ellis finished his testimony by trying to deflect District Attorney Robert James' attacks on his credibility.
The lead prosecutor tried to use Ellis’ own words against him by playing portions of his videotaped testimony to a special grand jury in January 2013 and portions of what he said from the witness stand last year during his first trial.
“I’ve never promised anyone anything in exchange for a campaign contribution,” Ellis said Tuesday morning.
James focused on a conversation on Oct. 29, 2012, that was secretly recorded between Ellis and a representative of Motorola Services, which had a maintenance contract with the county. Angela Johnson called Ellis to tell him her company was going to give him $1,000 to pay down the debt on his 2012 re-election campaign. In that conversation, she also asked Ellis if he could quickly signed a $15 million contract that the DeKalb Board of Commissioners had just approved.
“Oh, you want me to rush yours but you can’t rush mine,” Ellis said in the recording. “We don’t move that fast.”
Ellis said that response was a joke. James didn’t believe it.
“That’s a joke?” James said.
To rebut Ellis’ assertions that a campaign contribution wasn’t linked to Motorola’s contract, prosecutors called to the stand one of their investigators.
Investigator Crystal Caraballo testified Ellis signed the Motorola contract on Oct. 31, 2012, two days after Johnson called to tell him to expect a $1,000 campaign contribution. Caraballo said Ellis called Johnson the next day, Nov. 1, 2012, and the campaign contribution was made on Nov. 6, 2012, Election Day.
Ellis' lawyers ended their case by calling more character witnesses, concluding with former U.N. Ambassador, Atlanta Mayor and Congressman Andy Young.
“I think I’d trust him with my life,” Young said.
Coming up
Prosecutors and Ellis attorneys will make their final arguments to the jury Wednesday and then the six men and six women will begin their deliberations.
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