Correction: Savannah Mass Shooting Indictment

– Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 –

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Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter incorrectly identified the day of the upcoming Chatham County District Attorney forum. It is taking place on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.

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Good morning. An important thing to remember about public safety is that it’s only as good as the dollars behind it. How much and for how long are constant tug-of-wars between law enforcement, fire departments, courts and the elected officials that control the county purse.

Here’s how those battles are playing out across Coastal Georgia. The devil is always in the details. Let’s take a look.

Have any questions, comments, or story ideas? Reach out to staff@thecurrentga.org

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NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY

Budget shortfall turns into budget fight

Last month’s revelation that the district attorney overseeing the five-county circuit that includes Glynn County ran over his budget by around $880,000 shocked Glynn officials and prompted a financial reckoning for the office.

But the crisis and ensuing budgetary stalemate between commissioners and the district attorney has now led to the suspension of prosecutors assigned to Glynn County Juvenile Court, according to letters obtained by The Current‘s Jabari Gibbs.

This consequential change stems from accounting errors by the staff of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins, which caused him to over-hire earlier this year. Since learning about his overspending, Higgins fired at least two people and has spent the past three weeks negotiating a new agreement with Glynn County Commissioners, whose county makes up the plurality of the office’s crime demands as well as funding.

But officials have bristled against Higgins’ requests for supplemental money from the county to make up for the shortfall.

“The Board of Commissioners is not in a position to waive or forgive these unreimbursed expenses for the last fiscal year, nor is it in a position to permit this figure to grow even larger,” a recent letter from the county said.

The district attorney has warned that not helping will have severe costs to public safety, like the Juvenile Court decision.

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NEWS: COURTS

Ellis Square mass shooting indictment

A Chatham County grand jury accused six people of felony assault and weapons charges in the hectic Ellis Square mass shooting from this spring that injured 11 people.

The Sept. 4 indictment sheds few new details on the downtown shooting that unnerved the city on May 18. The first eight counts in the 19-count indictment say that William Anthony Mitchell used a handgun to shoot four people: Cazare Cooper, Jacorey Porter, Omarre Harris and Samira Kenny.

The next 11 counts allege that Cooper, Porter, Harris, Kenny and others “individually and as parties concerned in the commission of a crime,” returned fire and shot Mitchell and three other people. The Savannah Police Department initially investigated the case and brought charges against those involved, including some who were named as involved in the indictment but not charged by the grand jury.

Police Chief Lenny Gunther originally said that a late-night argument between two women sparked the shootout.

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NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

Negotiations are underway for Liberty County’s takeover of fire protection for the small city of Midway.

Conflicts between Midway’s volunteer fire department and city leaders led to firefighter resignations and threatened certification.

The expansion of coverage to the city of around 2,000 people comes as Liberty County Fire Services has struggled to keep up with increasing development demands in the county, a prior investigation by The Current revealed.

The Current‘s Robin Kemp attended the recent talks and reported on the vague five-year plan intended to beef up staffing, build a new firehouse and move key equipment.

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NEWS: ELECTIONS, PUBLIC SAFETY

One more thing: Hear for yourself

Over the weekend, The Current reported on a fiery letter from Chatham County’s sitting-district attorney accusing her opponent of unethically inserting himself in an ongoing criminal case.

The accusations from District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones, a Democrat, against her Republican rival, Andre Pretorius, took aim at legal advice he gave to a county narcotics team about an ongoing investigation, even though he no longer worked for the county. Pretorius said his actions were completely within ethical and legal guidelines.

Ethical accusations have frequently come up in this race and have mostly been aimed at Cook Jones, who was sanctioned by a federal judge for willfully skipping court deadlines and by a state election board for failing to file years of campaign documents.

Questions about both sets of accusations, as well as policies on prosecution and punishment are sure to come up at an upcoming election forum on Monday, Sept. 16.

Cook Jones and Pretorius will speak at the nonpartisan forum put on by the League of Women Voters at the Coastal Georgia Center at 305 Fahm Street, Savannah, GA 31401. It starts at 6:30 p.m.

We hope to see you there!

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