– Thursday, Aug. 21, 2024 –
In this week’s newsletter, we dive into two very different reactions from district attorneys in Brunswick and Savannah after being alerted to police misconduct. Plus, we report on challenges for a housing fund in Glynn County and an encouraging update from the hospitalized Chatham County sheriff.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Reach me at jake.shore@thecurrentga.org.
NEWS: COURTS
DA combats legal challenge stemming from Glynn cop misconduct
Earlier this month defense lawyers filed a motion for a new trial for Mindy Lynn Johnson, arguing that the Glynn County woman’s drug conviction stemmed from legal violations uncovered in an investigation by The Current into prosecutorial and police abuse.
The bid to overturn the young mother’s 15-year sentence has hit a roadblock, however. The Brunswick-area district attorney, Keith Higgins, is fighting to prevent the case from being reopened despite accusations that his predecessor and her team had withheld key evidence of corruption within the special police drug unit that arrested her.
Lawyers for Mindy Lynn say that the prosecutors never disclosed the fact that the informant for the Glynn-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team (GBNET) and primary witness in her arrest was doing drugs and sleeping with a GBNET officer.
NEWS: COURTS
Murder charges dropped after officer indictment
In Savannah, about 80 miles north of Brunswick, police misconduct forced the Chatham County district attorney to drop charges against two Savannah men accused in a triple murder.
On Wednesday, Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones’ office filed requests to dismiss charges against two of three men accused in a 2015 triple homicide in Savannah, according to court records.
Jones’ office said it could not prove murder charges against Jerrell Williams and Stanley Hall, who were charged by former Savannah Police Department detective Darryl Repress in 2018. In May, a grand jury indicted Repress and another former SPD detective, Ashley Wood, on charges of perjury and violating their oaths of office. They have both pleaded not guilty.
The indictment specifically alleges that Repress lied in the triple homicide case. During a bond hearing for Williams, he testified that a witness saw Williams fleeing the crime scene, when the witness only said he was familiar with Williams, according to the indictment.
NEWS: GLYNN COUNTY
Housing fund for homeless hits roadblock
On Wednesday, Glynn County leaders attempted to clear bureaucratic hurdles and address public safety concerns by providing housing to the county’s unsheltered population and low-income families.
The presentation to county commissioners for a new fund to to house Glynn residents started off hopeful but ended without a crucial vote.
Commissioners said the fund organizers needed to go back to the drawing board to get more support from neighbors near the Blythe Island Highway where they want to build an overnight men’s shelter.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Chatham sheriff expected to return home, deputy says
Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher is expected to be discharged from the hospital on Thursday, according to his chief deputy.
Chief Deputy Gary Taylor has helped run operations along with other command staff deputies since a “cardiac event” hospitalized Wilcher around two months ago on Father’s Day. Taylor told The Current that Wilcher is supposed to return home on Thursday and then in the days after, return to work. Wilcher did not have a heart attack, Taylor clarified.
“Physically, mentally and emotionally, he is ready to get back,” he said. In terms of his physical health, Wilcher experienced some effects from sedation and has undergone physical therapy.
Wilcher’s family has said the 79-year-old Republican sheriff is “as cantankerous as ever” and appreciative of the community support.
Woman ensnared by discredited Glynn drug unit seeks new trial
Lawyers for a Glynn County woman are asking for a new trial after an investigation by The Current revealed her drug conviction and many others were never reviewed despite evidence concerns over GBNET drug unit actions and use of discredited confidential informants.
In Brunswick, drug cops were convicted. A prosecutor was indicted. But hundreds of people caught in their maw are forgotten.
Months before Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, Brunswick prosecutors indexed hundreds of drug convictions due to possible police misconduct. Then, they stopped looking.
$10M fund fails to convince Glynn County Commission to OK housing for working men
Community leaders introduced a new fund to raise money for housing for the working poor, veterans and vulnerable women and their children.
FAQ: How much do you know about your water?
As Hyundai increases demands on water supplies, learn about where the Savannah area gets its water and how the supply is regulated and protected.
Midway fire station could lose certification
A state fire compliance officer has sent the City of Midway a letter giving it 30 days from that point to get the department back into compliance.
Election deniers secretly pushed rule that would make it easier to delay certification of Georgia’s election results
The Election Integrity Network is led by Cleta Mitchell, who helped orchestrate attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Support independent, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
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