Embattled DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis is led out after he was sentenced to 5 years to serve 18 months in prison Wednesday July 8, 2015. Ellis was found guilty of attempted extortion and perjury a week ago in his retrial before Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson. But on November 30, 2016, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously threw out the conviction, ruling that Ellis was denied a fair trial.