Office of the District Attorney Towaliga Judicial Circuit

Butts, Lamar and Monroe Counties

2017 Annual Report

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

MISSION STATEMENT…………………………...………………….4

OUR TEAM…………………..…………………..…………...……….5

OUR CASES.……………………..…………………………..............8

CASES OPENED BY TYPE…………………………..……………..9

OUR WORK – BUILDING CASES…………………..……..……...11

NEW INITIATIVES……………………………...………..………….17

THE ROAD AHEAD ……….………………………………………..20

DEPLOYMENT………………………………………………………22

GIVING BACK…………...…………….....……….…………..……..23

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OUR MISSION

To seek justice, to act with integrity, and to work with our partner agencies to protect the citizens of the Towaliga Judicial Circuit and the State of Georgia. To prosecute professionally and competently; to treat all people courteously, and respectfully; to advocate for the rights of victims; and above all to make our community a safer place for all of its residents.

OUR DUTIES Prosecute all criminal cases in Superior and Juvenile Court through appeal.

Prosecute all criminal cases in Butts and Lamar County Probate Court.

Attend and advise Grand Juries.

Draft indictments, accusations and Grand Jury presentments.

Draft Juvenile Petitions on delinquency cases.

Handle Habeas Corpus Cases and Appeals.

Screen all cases for determination of disposition.

File and prosecute civil drug asset forfeiture cases.

Prosecute welfare fraud cases.

Advise Law Enforcement officials concerning search warrants, etc.

Review, authorize and monitor Title III wiretaps.

Verify Local Revenue Bond Issue Petitions.

Process Detainers and Extraditions of out of state defendants.

Respond to open records and criminal record Expungement requests.

Prepare Destruction/Retention Orders for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Review and process cases for Accountability Court Staffing and Court.

Review and process cases for Pre-Trial Diversion Program.

Organize and assist Coroner Inquests.

Assist crime victims with State Crime Victim Rights and Procedures.

Chair Child Fatality Review Committee meetings.

Assist Multi-Disciplinary Team Reviews on Child Abuse Cases.

Assist Sexual Assault Team Review meetings.

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OUR TEAM

In addition to the District Attorney, the Office of the District Attorney has a full time staff of eight prosecuting attorneys, six legal assistants, two investigators, and four victim advocates. Our office is divided into trial teams that are assigned to individual counties and that handle all cases assigned to their respective courts. Our office also has a Juvenile Court trial team which has one Assistant District Attorney, and a legal assistant who cover all juvenile cases in our circuit. Throughout 2017, our office experienced a tremendous amount of growth and change. We welcomed a new Chief Assistant District Attorney, a new Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney, a new Assistant District Attorney, a new Director of our Victim Witness Assistance Program, a new investigator and two new legal assistants. Our goal is to ensure we have an outstanding team of professionals working to ensure justice for our community.

Butts County team members from left to right: Caroline Storey, James Moss, Cayce

Ingalls, Greg Futch, Dianne Miner, Bonita Lynn, Paul Hemmann, Linda Watts

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Lamar County team members from left to right: Audrianna Holston, Cindy Adams,

Nelda Allen, Anita Howard

Monroe County team members from left to right: Front: Leslie Tilson, Fran Norris, Monse

Lopez, Elizabeth Bobbitt; Back: Greg Guest, Allison Howard, KB Ayer, Steven Ouzts

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Some of the new staff members after being sworn in to their new office. Left to right are KB Ayer, Jalaine Ward, Jonathan Adams, Elizabeth Bobbitt, Fran Norris.

New staff members after being sworn in to their new office. Left to right are Cindy Adams, Jonathan Adams and Greg Futch.

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OUR CASES

In 2017, the Office of the District Attorney received 1622 cases for prosecution. The average caseload is 1498 over the past four years. The data in this report only reflects criminal cases resulting in arrests. The current caseload results in an average of 203 open cases for each prosecutor.

15421462

1367

1622

1442 14321339 1292

2014 2015 2016 2017

Circuit Totals

Opened Cases Closed Cases

490 467

567

743

323290 280

251

729696

520

628

2014 2015 2016 2017

Opened Cases by County

BUTTS LAMAR MONROE

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CASES OPENED BY TYPE

This chart demonstrates the majority of cases received in our office are either Drug Crimes or DUI/Traffic. There is a need for us to take a multi-pronged approach to Drug and Alcohol prosecution. We will work closely with law enforcement to ensure we target dealers and to ensure stiff punishment. We will also increase our efforts with the Accountability Courts to address the issues of addiction. The chart below illustrates the caseload by percentage of cases being opened in the Office of the District Attorney in 2017. Our tracking instrument does not collect data from juvenile court or probation revocations sufficient to break down the types of cases handled therein. However, they involve all manner of violations, from simple technical issues with the compliance to newly committed offenses.

Violent Crimes22%

Property Crimes20%

Drug Crimes/DUI38%

Other12%

Juvenile8%

2017 Circuit Cases Opened by Type

Violent Crimes Property Crimes Drug Crimes/DUI Other Juvenile

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Violent Crimes18%

Property Crimes14%

Drug Crimes/DUI47%

Other10%

Juvenile11%

2017 Butts County

Violent Crimes Property Crimes Drug Crimes/DUI Other Juvenile

Violent Crimes26%

Property Crimes23%

Drug Crimes/DUI30%

Other12%

Juvenile9%

2017 Lamar County

Violent Crimes Property Crimes Drug Crimes/DUI Other Juvenile

Violent Crimes21%

Property Crimes26%Drug Crimes/DUI

32%

Other13%

Juvenile8%

2017 Monroe Cases

Violent Crimes Property Crimes Drug Crimes/DUI Other Juvenile

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OUR WORK - BUILDING CASES Team Work Improves Investigations Our prosecutors and investigators are on call and available to law enforcement 24/7. Particularly in serious violent felony cases against adults and children or other complex cases, upon request, our prosecutors will provide legal advice regarding search warrants, interviews of suspects or whether additional evidence would be required to prove a case in court.

Grand Jury After an arrest, warrants are forwarded to the Office of the District Attorney for prosecution. Our investigator then requests reports and additional follow-up from law enforcement as well as acquiring additional needed information, such as medical reports, scientific testing results or additional witness statements. Once our prosecutors determine a case is ready for formal charges to be lodged, they draft indictments in cases requiring Grand Jury review or accusations in cases statutorily permitted to be charged by the State. The majority of cases passing through the Office of the District Attorney are presented to the Grand Jury where citizens who have been selected for the Grand Jury hear evidence and determine whether probable cause exists and then issue a True Bill (meaning there is sufficient evidence for probable cause) or a No Bill (meaning lack of evidence or probable cause).

Trial The majority of cases in the criminal justice system are resolved by guilty pleas when defendants accept responsibility for their crimes. When a defendant declines to plead guilty, we provide a trial by jury which can take place every quarter. This year our office met our goal of ensuring we were ready to try multiple criminal cases every single trial term of the year. On the next few pages are some of the most important trials we had this year throughout the circuit. Every case is significant, and we work hard to ensure justice is served.

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State v. Christopher Calmer-Monroe County.

Deputy Jeff Wilson and Deputy Michael Norris

On September 13, 2014 Deputy Michael Norris and Deputy Jeff Wilson were shot while responding to a request for assistance at a local residence. On June 14, 2017 Christopher Calmer was found guilty on all counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated battery, criminal attempt to commit murder, two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before reaching its verdict of guilty but sentenced the defendant to life without parole rather than the death penalty.

State v. Carl Carr-Monroe County.

A Florida man was sentenced to 15

years in prison for striking a Forsyth

police officer with his vehicle and fleeing

a traffic stop last September. Judge

Tommy Wilson sentenced Carl Lester

Carr, of Tallahassee, Florida to 15 years

in prison, for obstruction and two counts

of fleeing, plus concurrent sentences for

six misdemeanors. The car struck

Forsyth officer Kimberly Barnett’s gun

belt, spinning her away from the car.

Barnett gave chase at speeds of 115

mph. Barnett found two vehicles that

had been struck by Carr.

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State v. Joshua Cox-Lamar County.

Joshua James Cox was convicted of malice murder, felony murder and two counts of

possession of a firearm during commission of a felony for the July 14, 2015 shooting

death of Donald Terrell Clark. Clark was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in the

driveway of his home in Lamar County. According to court testimony, Cox told

investigators he and Clark had taken hallucinogenic drugs and were smoking marijuana.

At some point, Cox hallucinated as he saw Clark and shot him with a Glock handgun.

State v. Bobbie Jo Sumner-Lamar County.

Alexandra Desir

On June 29, 2013 the defendant killed a student at Gordon State College, Alexandra

Desir, in a hit and run. A jury convicted Bobbie Jo Sumner on August 02, 2017 of all

charges. While this case took too long to bring to trial, justice was finally served this

year for the victim and her family. The defendant was sentenced to 20 years to serve

after being convicted for Homicide by Vehicle in the First Degree, Making a False

Statement and Hit and Run.

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State v. Fuquah Dewalt Cashaw-Butts County.

Heather Davidson

The Texas man accused in the 1999

death of Heather Davidson, whose body

was found in Butts County pled guilty to

malice murder December 20, 2017 and

received a life sentence. Fuquah Dewalt

Cashaw faced a possible death

sentence if convicted of the murder of

Heather Davidson whose body was

found along Kermit Williams Road. The

plea closed a case 18 years in the

making and one that had gone cold for

years. It was re-examined by the Butts

County Sheriff's Office in

2013. Heather’s family felt the plea

agreement provided a long needed final

resolution to this case.

State v. Zerra Brown,James Byrd,Akhigbe Thurman-Butts County.

Paul Bridges

On January 10, 2017 a Butts County

Grand Jury handed down indictments on

charges of felony murder against Zerra

Brown, James Byrd and Akhigbe

Thurman, who were accused in the

December 10, 2008 shooting of Willie

Paul Bridges, a Jackson clothing store

owner.

The three men were attempting to rob

Bridges when he was shot. Thurman

pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to

commit armed robbery and testified for

the state. Brown and Byrd went to trial

but entered a plea to criminal attempt to

commit armed robbery during jury

deliberations. They received a sentence

of 20 years.

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NEW INITIATIVES This year our office began working in a new direction with several new initiatives which are committed to better serving a safer community.

Cold Case Probe - Lamar County Murder of Donna Johnson

Investigator Jalaine Ward

In October, our office formed a team led by Special Investigator Jalaine Ward to launch

a cold case investigation into the July 16, 1984 torture and murder of Donna Ogletree

Johnson.

Investigator Ward is a career FBI Agent with a wide range of experience. Our hope is

that by meeting with family members, witnesses, law enforcement and combing the old

case file we will be able to use new techniques and technologies to provide us with a

new direction in the case.

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Victim Assistance Expansion Initiative with CARE Cottage

Supporters of the CARE Cottage Child Abuse Prevention Program

We are determined that every victim in every criminal case in every county receives

assistance from the time the crime occurs though the end of the case. To achieve that

goal our office is teaming up with CARE Cottage to expand their concept into every

county to provide expanded victim services.

Victims have the right to notification, counseling, assistance with certain expenses and

other things our office can assist with from the very beginning.

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Internet and Social Media Communication

Our goal is to ensure the community knows of the work going on to keep them safe. It

can take months and years until a case is solved and resolved in court so it is important

to keep the public informed with all the information possible.

Additionally, we want a place in which victims can understand their rights in the criminal

justice system and apply for every available resource.

Our Facebook page at Facebook.com/towaligada

Our website at towaligada.com

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THE ROAD AHEAD: PURSUING PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Accountability Courts The philosophy of accountability courts is that when a defendant’s crimes are largely the direct result of addiction or mental health problems, there are instances in which it is in our community’s best interest to attempt to rehabilitate the individual by addressing the core issues. This approach involves investing in the development of accountability courts and treatment programs in an effort to prevent recidivism and to prioritize incarceration for those who are a danger to society. Throughout Georgia, there is a movement to build accountability courts to eliminate the need to imprison citizens who have the potential to lead productive and independent lives. The Towaliga Accountability Courts are voluntary courts and require application and admission to participate.

Drug Court In 2005, Judge William A. Fears began the Towaliga Accountability Court (TAC). TAC is a four-phase program that takes a minimum of two years to complete. The program is designed for adults who have been charged with misdemeanor or felony cases and have an identified substance abuse problem that likely has a causal relationship to the individuals’ criminality. The program is based on total abstinence from drug use. Each phase of the program has specific required activities and goals that must be met before participants can interview to move to the next phase. Participants in the program are required to attend court, counseling groups, and case management. They also must obey curfew rules and are subject to random drug screens. The program is largely grant funded; however, participants pay significant fees which contribute to sustaining the program.

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Veterans’ Court The Towaliga Veterans’ Court was the first veterans’ court in the state of Georgia started by Fears in 2006. The mission of the Towaliga Veterans' Court (TVC) is to provide an inter-agency, collaborative treatment strategy for veterans currently involved with the criminal justice system who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, mental disease, traumatic brain injuries and other physical injuries that are a result of having served in our Armed Forces. Cases considered for admission to the TVC include both misdemeanor and felony cases, when the Veterans' Court team believes admission will protect the public and will assist the Veterans and their families. Each Veteran that enters the TAC Veterans’ Court Program is assigned a Volunteer Veteran Mentor. The role of the mentor is to act as a coach, a guide, a role model, an advocate, and a support system for the individual with whom he/she is working. A mentor is intended to encourage, to guide, and to support the mentee while he/she progresses through the court program.

Pre-Trial Diversion Program In 2017, the District Attorney’s Office launched a new Pre-Trial Diversion Program primarily aimed at youthful offenders who commit low level crimes. The purpose of this program is to aide in preventing future criminal activity among certain offenders by diverting them from a traditional criminal justice response into community supervision and services. The program will also functionally create a fast track for resolution of cases in which collection of restitution for victims is the foremost priority. This program will save prosecutorial and judicial resources, preserving taxpayer funds and jail space for the highest priority more serious cases.

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DEPLOYMENT “I am proud and honored to serve our state and our nation as a member of the Georgia Army National Guard. Currently I have the privilege to serve as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned as Deputy Commander of the 201st Regional Support Group (RSG). This year the 201st RSG Headquarters will begin a twelve-month activation to support an overseas deployment. This means I will transition to Active Duty in May of 2018, to support of the US Army’s global war on terrorism. We are excited to have the outstanding leadership of Elizabeth Bobbitt, Chief Assistant DA and Cindy Adams, Deputy Chief Assistant DA as a part of our team. Together they will assume the roles of Interim District Attorney and Interim Chief Assistant District Attorney. They have the ability, determination and experience to continue to lead our office to the high standard of excellence the community expects. I appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support from the community and I look forward to my return to my friends and family”

-District Attorney Jonathan Adams

LTC Adams on a C-130 flight in country.

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GIVING BACK

The District Attorney’s Office encourages everyone to take the time to give back to our

great community. Each year, our office staff personally participate in various charities

throughout our circuit.

Toy Run 2017, supporting Care Cottage and local children. “I have been involved with the Toy Run for 12 years. Every year the Moose Lodge, of Forsyth, GA, hosts the Toy Run to help raise money for the Care Cottage. Each year we have new and old riders to participate. I have helped in many ways from serving food to selling T-shirts to selling raffle tickets. November 2017 was no exception. We had more baskets and other items to raffle off than we have had in a very long time. We also had more donors for their name on the back of the Toy Run T-Shirt than we have ever had since I have been involved. My understanding from Joey Proctor we raised almost $10,000. It truly is an experience and pleasure to help kids less fortunate than mine.”

- Dianne Miner, Legal Assistant

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Inmates constructing housing areas for adoptable dogs from the animal shelter.

“In 2017, I was instrumental in starting a program at the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department called Bondable Pups. Sheriff David Davis, an animal lover, was excited to implement this program which paired dogs from the animal shelter with inmates. In a year’s time over 17 dogs have been adopted through this program. With the support of District Attorney Jonathan Adams, we have reached out to Sheriff Gary Long of Butts County and he is going to start a similar program at the jail in Butts County. He will be partnering with Butts Mutts to house adoptable dogs at the jail. Inmates will socialize and train the dogs in basic social skills such as sit, stay, leash walking and house breaking. The dogs will then be adoptable into the community having acquired skills that make them good pets for adopters.”

-Elizabeth K. Bobbitt

Chief Assistant District Attorney

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Nutcracker presentation to Monroe County Students.

“I am currently serving as the President for the Board of Directors for Nutcracker of Middle Georgia, Inc. Each year in December this volunteer nonprofit organization produces The Nutcracker Ballet at the Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia. This wonderful holiday event brings in audience and young dancers from throughout the Middle Georgia area. In order to promote the arts in education with young children, the Nutcracker Board provides a free special weekday morning performance for selected schools in the Middle Georgia area on an annual rotating basis. The Board provides the teachers at those schools with educational materials about the Nutcracker before the performance date. For the 2017 Production, T. G. Scott Elementary School in Monroe County was one of the schools that had children in attendance for this delightful holiday extravaganza. Nutcracker of Middle Georgia, Inc., is proud to be able to bring this opportunity to our Middle Georgia school children.”

-Cynthia T. Adams Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney

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Members of the Towaliga District Attorney’s Office discussing a new residential drug treatment facility in Butts County. Our ultimate goal is for our community to be a safe place to live, work, and play. There is no one solution to addressing crime in our community. It is a dynamic and changing landscape in which we have to address both defendants and victims as individuals. Our intention is to remove extremely violent individuals and sexual predators from our society through incarceration, but we also recognize that many defendants have the potential to live productive and fruitful lives if core issues with mental health and addiction are properly addressed. Our best work is performed when we collaborate with our partners such as law enforcement, community leaders, church leaders and school leaders. It is a genuine pleasure to be a voice for victims in our community and I look forward to our continued progress as your District Attorney.

-District Attorney Jonathan Adams