Barrow County High School student Leland Martin, 18, died of suffocation in 2007 after passing out during a prom party. Authorities say alcohol contributed to the death. On Thursday, a Barrow County jury acquitted Anthony Perry, who was 19 at the time, of playing a role in Martin’s death.
The Barrow County District Attorney’s Office had charged Perry with reckless conduct, since the party at which Martin died occurred in Perry’s home. At trial, it was revealed that Martin’s body was not found until the following morning even though 20 to 40 people were at the prom party. Perry's defense attorney, Christine Koehler, did a fantastic job defending her client.
The trial came on the heels of a plea deal prosecutors made with Barbara Ann Michael, Perry’s step-mother. Michael was accused of allowing her teenage children to throw parties at her home. Prosecutors alleged that Michael was aware that alcohol was being served at the prom party even though she was not at home during the party and did not provide the alcohol. She ended up pleading to eight misdemeanors.
Savannah-Chatham Metro Police arrested four people this week on charges of racketeering and forgery for allegedly spending counterfeit money. Authorities say the four spent thousands of dollars in phony bills.
The four allegedly spent around $2,000 of counterfeit money at the Target on East Victory Drive. Police believe they then returned around $800 worth of merchandise to the Savannah Mall Target. So far all of the bills were in $20 and $50 denominations.
According to police, a Target loss prevention officer followed one of the suspect’s cars and wrote down a tag number. That information led to the arrest of Necshelle Smart, Shauawquinette Smart, Tyler Murphy and Monica Miller. The four are believed to be related.
All of the arrested individuals were given a bond except Necshelle who apparently has a prior forgery conviction. They are expected to appear in court on February 8.
Under Georgia law, forgery can lead to a 10 year sentence while racketeering can result in a five to 20 year sentence.
Our criminal defense attorneys have successfully handled numerous racketeering and forgery charges. In some counterfeit cases, individuals are recorded on videotape exchanging cash for merchandise. In other cases, a tip will point police to a home where a counterfeit operation is being conducted. Whatever the case may be, a good criminal defense attorney will explore every step of a police investigation to determine if there was probable cause to arrest an individual or search a home. If police conducted an illegal search or seizure, the evidence used against that person will generally be suppressed.
In this case, as in any other criminal case, all of the individuals charged are presumed innocent. There will need to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict any of them at trial.
Our firm was hired last year to represent a Savannah man accused of being a co-conspirator in a major drug trafficking case. The alleged drug conspiracy involved 10 kilograms of cocaine that was being transported by van from Atlanta to Savannah.
After we successfully suppressed an illegal wiretap and our client's statements, prosecutors agreed to drop all charges against our client. The dismissal was filed in open court yesterday.
The case began a couple of years ago when the Chatham Counter Narcotics Team placed a wiretap on an individual accused of trafficking cocaine from Atlanta to Savannah. Based on the tap and other information, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department pulled over a van being driven by a different individual in November 2008. Inside the van, police found 10 kilos of cocaine. Police then began arresting individuals they believed they heard on the wire tap.
Our client was one of those individuals. Police interrogated our client without ever reading him his Miranda warnings in the hopes of eliciting incriminating statements. He was then indicted for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and trafficking in cocaine. The trafficking in cocaine charge alone carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.
We fought and won a motion to suppress the statements our client made to police during his interrogation. Under Georgia and federal law, only voluntary statements may be used against a defendant in a criminal trial. For a statement during a custodial interrogation to be voluntary, police must first give the defendant his Miranda warnings. In this case, such a warning was not given, and as a result, our client’s statements were suppressed.
Along with a Savannah criminal lawyer who represented a co-defendant, we were also able to suppress all phone conversations recorded on the wiretap.
With the wiretap and statements suppressed, the state had no evidence which linked our client to the 10 kilos of cocaine, other than the fact that our client may have known some of the alleged co-conspirators.
We were fortunate to have been successful in our pretrial motions. Drug conspiracy cases like this one can lead to very long prison sentences if the person is convicted at trial, regardless of the person's alleged role in the conspiracy.
The District Attorney for Gwinnett County has impaneled a special grand jury to investigate four land purchases made by county officials. The reason for the investigation centers on the purchase price of the parcels of land and possible political connections between county commissioners and land developers.
Closed door hearings began last Friday. At the conclusion of the investigation, the special grand jury is expected to issue a report stating its findings as well as whether any individuals should be indicted. The judges who makeup the Superior Court of Gwinnett County will then vote as to whether any further actions should be taken.
At Friday’s hearing, Jock Connell, Phil Hoskins, Steve North and Chuck Warbington appeared before the panel. Connell, a former county administrator, worked for the county for 20 years before retiring in December. Hoskins, the director of community service, oversees the county’s park department. North heads the department which supervises land purchases, and Warbington is a representative on the county planning commission.
Gwinnett County saw a similar investigation 1989 when a former DA impaneled a special grand jury to look into allegations of price-fixing on school milk contracts.
Our criminal defense attorneys have successfully represented several local, state and federal officials who have been charged with corruption offenses. Public corruption cases can be quite difficult due to intense media exposure and political pressures. In addition to fighting any criminal charges, a good defense attorney will work to ensure that allegations of corruption do not lead to false media reports, discipline, or any other actions which could potentially damage one’s reputation.
A former Bibb County Sheriff’s Deputy stands trial in federal court for allegedly enticing a child for sex. Prosecutors told jurors that he arranged to meet a mother and her 7-year-old child for sex in Sandy Springs. His criminal defense attorney argued that he was role-playing and never intended to have sex with the child.
Federal prosecutors say 43-year-old Gregory Todd Bowden, of Byron, drove to a Sandy Springs restaurant to meet the fictitious mother and her daughter for sex. An FBI agent with the Innocent Images Task Force testified that she initially made contact with Bowden in an online chatroom sometime in October 2008. The agent then explained a series of online chats, emails and telephone calls she had with Bowden which spanned around five months.
According to the agent, Bowden initially asked her to join a virtual role-playing relationship. Their chats eventually evolved into setting up an actual meeting in Sandy Springs where Bowden was arrested. One chat reveals Bowden expressing concern that the girl may possibly tell others of the sexual activity. He was also quoted as saying “I don’t want to go to jail.”
In addition to online chats, the jury was shown various pictures including a photo of a woman and a child which the agent had sent to Bowden. Jurors were also shown pictures that Bowden sent to the agent including his face and a man’s genitals.
Bowden’s attorney, Franklin J. Hogue, told jurors in opening statements that Bowden only intended to role play with the woman in an incestuous fantasy. This argument coincides with statements Bowden gave authorities when he was arrested in February. Specifically, he told agents that he did not think the girl was real.
Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon, Madison and Savannah. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine.
Today, federal, state and local law enforcement officers spanned out across Georgia looking for individuals possessing child porn. The combined effort, known as Operation Restore Hope, has led to 25 arrests and 143 seized computers so far. The operation began at first light and is expected to run well into the night.
The operation consisted of 24 local police agencies which came from Gwinnett, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb, Paulding, Hall and Cherokee counties. There were also federal agents from the FBI, ICE, the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Secret Service. All in all, 40 teams were sent to addresses across the state in hopes of arresting 89 different people.
The background investigation began three months ago out of the GBI’s office in Cleveland. Police tracked various peer-to-peer networks which allow computer users to download videos and pictures containing child pornography from other users. Authorities then obtained search warrants for the addresses of these users. Tuesday’s sweeps were planned to coincide with the time that the users would be home in order to maximize the number of arrests. Some of those arrested will face prosecution in federal court.
Our criminal defense lawyers have successfully defended numerous clients accused of internet offenses including possession of child pornography. In our experience, these types of cases can be defended in many ways. For instance, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to charge people who were unaware that illegal videos or images were being stored on their computers. A good criminal defense attorney will show this by hiring a computer forensics expert to determine how the unlawful images got onto the computer. It is also not uncommon for the search warrant which allowed for the seizure of the computer to be deficient in some respect. This can be shown by conducting a thorough examination of the police investigation as well as examining the language of the search warrant itself.
Regardless of the defense, it is vital that an experienced criminal defense firm be retained as soon as possible after the arrest or search. Many times, a lawyer's early involvement in the case can make a huge difference in the outcome.
A Macon man accused of rape has asked a judge to dismiss the charge, since DNA evidence which linked him to the crime was destroyed by police in 2006. The man’s attorney argued for the charges to be dropped based on due process grounds.
John Paul Battle, 25, was originally sent to prison in 2008 after being convicted of aggravated assault. Last spring authorities found that his DNA matched the DNA police recovered from a rape victim in 2002. The rape victim then picked Battle out of a lineup. Authorities also took a fresh DNA sample from Battle and concluded that the DNA recovered from the victim matched Battle’s.
However, the DNA evidence which came from the 2002 rape was destroyed sometime in 2006. The evidence included swabs, a rape kit and a condom. Battle’s attorney, Allen Wheeler, filed a motion arguing that Battle has due process rights which includes having the original evidence tested by an independent expert. And since that evidence no longer exists, it cannot be independently tested. Wheeler also pointed to a 2003 Georgia law requiring police to preserve biological evidence relating to a defendant’s identity.
Prosecutors argue there is no constitutional violation, because police did not act in bad faith when they failed to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence. The detective in charge of the 2002 rape case marked the evidence to be destroyed in 2005. It is unknown as to why the detective marked the evidence, but Macon Police did state that the detective is no longer employed with the department.
Our criminal defense lawyers have handled numerous cases in which potentially beneficial evidence was destroyed or lost. Cases such as these can involve destroyed DNA samples, shattered cell phones, lost blood and urine specimens, and missing finger prints. In our experience, there is almost always an issue of whether a person’s rights were violated any time this type of evidence is destroyed or lost. If it can be shown that the evidence was destroyed in bad faith, the court may be forced to drop the case against the defendant.
Former Marietta High School teacher Christopher King, 36, was found not guilty a few weeks ago after prosecutors accused him of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The trial ended when Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy granted Cobb County defense attorney Scott Semrau’s request for a directed verdict. Judge Flournoy agreed with Semrau that prosecutors failed to put forth any evidence that the alleged victim did not consent to the relationship.
The state’s evidence showed that King and the student began a relationship in the fall of 2008 after meeting through the school’s newspaper club for which King was the faculty advisor. The relationship soon turned sexual in nature and was eventually ended when school officials and the alleged victim’s father found out. The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office then filed the charge of sexual assault against a person in custody despite the fact that King and the alleged victim have consistently maintained that the relationship was mutual and consensual.
TrialClips covered the trial, along with other TV and print media. Here is a clip of Defense Attorney Semrau's opening statement from the TrialClips YouTube channel:
The decision to prosecute King swirled with controversy, since it followed a Georgia Supreme Court ruling which held that consent was a defense for teachers accused of sexually assaulting students 16 years or older. The Court’s decision was primarily based on Georgia’s age of consent law which allows anyone 16 years old or older to consent to sex. Thus, in such cases, a prosecutor must overcome a defendant’s defense of consent to win a conviction.
In King’s case, the state had to persuade the judge and jury that there was no consent without the alleged victim’s cooperation. During the state’s case, Assistant District Attorney Maurice Brown conducted a direct examination of Marietta High School’s principal, the detective who interviewed the alleged victim, and the father of the alleged victim. The testimony of these witnesses focused on the life of the alleged victim after the relationship was exposed such as embarrassment and having to change schools. However, the testimony failed to demonstrate a lack of consent. The state’s case was further hampered when it put the alleged victim on the stand. Instead of showing manipulation or force on King’s part, the alleged victim demonstrated that she was an independent young woman who consented to King’s advances and even pursued King.
The final witness for the state was an expert witness on child sexual abuse and the state’s last hope to show a lack of consent. On direct, the expert witness described how sexual predators will “groom” their prey through a process of buying gifts, giving compliments, and showing attention. Scott Semrau, King’s attorney, dismissed these acts as being what two consenting adults do when they engage in dating. Semrau also attacked the expert witness for her lack of knowledge and research on relationships between consenting adults.
Semrau then moved for a directed verdict citing a lack of evidence showing force or coercion. Judge Flournoy granted the motion but not before calling the relationship “gross” and “awful”. If King had been convicted, he would have faced between 10 to 30 years in prison and a lifetime on the state’s sex offender registry.
Page Pate Page Pate is an accomplished trial lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody. Page was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association, and is a frequent commentator on Georgia and federal criminal procedure for the local media...
Bernard Brody Bernard Brody is an experienced trial and appellate criminal defense lawyer and founding partner of Pate & Brody...
Jess Johnson Jess Johnson graduated first in his class from the University of Georgia in 2006, where he attained degrees in political science and sociology...
