Former Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly has asked a court to dismiss charges of bribery and other offenses against him stemming from a grand jury investigation of dubious land deals.
In a series of motions filed Monday in Superior Court, Kenerly claims the indictment -- issued last year -- was illegal because it came while a previous indictment for the same charges was under appeal. He also claims some of the charges are no longer valid because of a change in state law.
District Attorney Danny Porter, who launched the investigation that led to the charges, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Kenerly’s latest motions are the newest twist in a legal battle that began more than two years ago and appears far from over. No trial date has been set for the charges.
In 2009 an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation disclosed a series of deals in which Gwinnett County apparently paid inflated prices for land based on questionable appraisals. In each case, county commissioners who advocated for the deals had ties to developers or others involved.
Porter impaneled a special grand jury to investigate the deals. In October 2010 jurors confirmed the newspaper’s findings, concluding Gwinnett paid millions of dollars too much for land.
Then-Commission Chairman Charles Bannister resigned rather than face a perjury charge in connection with his testimony during the investigation. And the grand jury indicted Kenerly on one felony count of bribery and two misdemeanor counts of failing to disclose a financial interest in two properties the county rezoned.
The indictment claimed Kenerly accepted or agreed to accept payments totaling $1 million to arrange for the county to buy land from developer David Jenkins. The indictment did not reveal additional details, and the charges against Kenerly have been in legal limbo ever since.
Kenerly appealed the original indictment, successfully arguing that the special purpose grand jury did not have the authority to indict him under state law. While that appeal was pending, Porter in August sought and received an indictment from a second grand jury on the same charges.
In motions filed Monday, Kenerly’s attorney, Patrick McDonough, says the second indictment in Superior Court is invalid. Citing state law and court precedents, he claims Superior Court did not have jurisdiction over the case while the appeal of the first indictment was pending in higher courts.
McDonough also claims a change in state law makes the misdemeanor counts a moot point. The General Assembly in April repealed a law that limits public officials’ participation in zoning decisions on properties in which they have an interest. The change in law means Kenerly is being charged with a crime that no longer exists, McDonough says.
In an interview, McDonough said Kenerly is innocent of the charges.
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