The Defendant was charged with Arson. The state believed he burned his own house down in an attempt to profit from insurance proceeds. Believing we could not obtain a fair trial in his home county, we moved for a change of venue which was granted. The trial was held in Ben Hill County. After a two day trial, the jury came back with a Not Guilty verdict!
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A Lowndes county case involving Armed Robbery was dismissed after we won a mistrial
The Defendant was charged with Armed Robbery. After a lengthy trial, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict and the court declared a mistrial. Not wanting to conduct a second trial with a chance of losing their case, the state dismissed the case.
A Dooly county defendant charged with Crossing a Guard Line with Contraband was acquitted after a 1 day trial!
The Defendant was charged along with two other individuals with smuggling marijuana into the prison. The state sought to make an example of them and would not offer anything less than the maximum sentence of 7 years. Just before trial, the state re-indicted all three defendants with additional charges which would increase their exposure to 25 years. Fortunately, we had filed a Demand for Speedy Trial on behalf of our client and it was about to expire. The court gave the state 3 options: split the case up and go to trial on the old indictment as to our client and continue the case as to the other two in order to try them on the new indictment; continue the whole case in order to try the case on the new indictment, which would cause a dismissal as to our client; or go to trial on the old indictment as to all three defendants. The state chose the latter and we proceeded to trial, with all three defendants only facing 7 years each instead of the 25. Half way through the first day of trial, the state improperly allowed the jury to know that our client was on probation. We moved for and received a mistrial as to our client only. The trial proceeded as to the other two defendants who were both convicted and sentenced to 7 years to serve.
A Lowndes county case involving VGCSA was dismissed
A Lowndes county case involving VGCSA was dismissed after we showed that the codefendant was the one that committed the crime.
The Defendant and others were attending a party at Chehaw Park. He got into an argument with someone from another group. As he was going to his car, he heard gun shots. Everyone jumped into their cars and fled the scene, including the Defendant. On the way out of the park, he lost control of his car and hit a fence post. While backing off the post, he backed into another car. Although everyone agrees someone else fired the gun, the State believed the Defendant had something to do with it and so he was arrested for 2 counts of Aggravated Assault (2 guys got shot) and one count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. Then, since the State already believed he was a bad guy, they arrested him for the traffic accident and charged him with 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the Second Degree (the post and the car). All total, he was facing 55 years in prison. During our investigation, we discovered that there was no evidence the Defendant had anything to do with the shooting other than his argument with one of the victims (clearly no enough to make him a party to the shooting). Thus, we felt confident on going to trial. However, to top it off, we also discovered that the shooting took place just yards inside the Lee County line, which meant Dougherty County could not convict anyone of the shooting. When we gave our witness list to the State (as required), they discovered our witness who would prove where the county line was. On the eve of trial, the State dismissed the 2 Aggravated Assault charges and the Possession of a Firearm charge. That left us with the traffic accident. We obtained a video from a security camera that clearly showed that the Defendant lost control of his car and hit the post. We felt the State could not prove intent. Additionally, the video showed that the driver of the car lied about how the accident happened and what the damages were. She was just trying to get prior damage to her car fixed by saying the Defendant did it. So the State would also be unable to prove sufficient damages to trigger the threshold in the crime. On the morning of trial, the State offered a plea to Leaving the Scene of an Accident (which he did). Even though we felt confident we could win, he took the plea to avoid the risk of trial. However, he went from a potential 55 years in prison to 12 months probation and went home a happy man!
A Lowndes county case involving Murder was dismissed due to lack of evidence
A Lowndes county case involving Murder was dismissed due to lack of evidence!
A Lowndes county case involving Murder was dismissed after we held a bond hearing
The Defendant was charged with murder. At the bond hearing we presented credible evidence that the Defendant was not involved in the murder. The state dismissed the case.
A Schley county case involving Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana was dismissed after we investigated the case
A Schley county case involving Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana was dismissed after we investigated the case
A Lowndes county case involving Battery was dismissed after we Investigated the Case
The Defendant’s girlfriend got mad at him after she saw him talking to his ex-wife. After she tried to stir up trouble, the Defendant told her to leave his house. After she left, she called the police and said he had choked her. We discovered that she had filed false reports on him several times before. We also found 3 witnesses who saw the event and would testify he did not choke her. There were no marks on her neck when the police arrived. After presenting this to the state, which only had her word that a crime occurred, the state dismissed the case.
A Sumter county case involving Drugs was dismissed after we Investigated the Case
A Sumter county case involving Drugs was dismissed after we Investigated the Case
A Terrell county case involving Criminal Damage to Property 1st Degree was dismissed after we Investigated the Case
A Terrell county case involving Criminal Damage to Property 1st Degree was dismissed after we Investigated the Case