Clayton County Police Chief Greg Porter has been notified that a special prosecutor will seek felony charges against him on allegations he inflated bills he submitted in his part-time job monitoring enrollees in a court-ordered DUI program.
Chuck Spahos, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, confirmed Wednesday that he had sent Porter a letter informing him that Spahos planned to ask a Fayette County grand jury to indict the chief on one count of racketeering and six counts of making a false statement or writing.
Georgia law requires a law enforcement officer facing possible indictment to receive 15 days’ notice that a grand jury will be considering charges against him so the officer can attend the presentment and make a comment to the grand jurors before a vote is taken on a proposed indictment.
Indictments also will be sought against Porter’s brother; the chief’s wife, Sabrina, who was the bookkeeper for the side business; and the former court clerk who approved their invoices.
The criminal probe began in June when Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson asked the GBI to look into the suspected theft of $36,000 in federal grant money. Spahos was named special prosecutor in August.
Prosecutors reviewed Porter’s time as deputy police chief in 2009, when he had a part-time job monitoring enrollees in the court-ordered DUI program by ensuring curfews were observed and by conducting random alcohol tests. When Porter was promoted to chief in September 2010, the job then passed on to his brother, Robert.
According to the proposed indictment, the Porter brothers, Sabrina Porter and Katrina Hood submitted and approved inflated invoices for their company. The proposed indictment said, for example, that they claimed they supervised probationers for 16 hours when the true time was four, for 15 hours when it was actually four, for 20 hours when it was only five.
Hood and Greg Porter could not be reached for comment. The attorney for Greg Porter and his wife did not return messages seeking comment.
Porter was suspended without pay in July, but he returned to the job in September even though he was still under investigation.
About the Author
