Judge Declares Mistrial in Burrell Ellis Case

burrell ellis
After two weeks of jury deliberations without reaching a consensus on any of the charges in the corruption case against suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, a DeKalb County judge declared a mistrial on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Judge Courtney Johnson received the notes from jurors explaining their inability to come to a unanimous decision on any of the 13 counts. On Tuesday, the jury once again told the judge that they could not come to a conclusion, and the judge declared a mistrial.
A mistrial is not enough for Ellis to return to work. He had to be found not guilty on all counts. He currently remains on paid administrative leave and continues to enjoy his annual salary of $153,000.
Ellis was brought to trial for accusations of theft, coercion, extortion and perjury in trying to shake down businesses by demanding contributions to his reelection campaign or risk losing contracts with DeKalb County. One juror said the closest the jurors came to a unanimous decision was on the extortion charge, where the vote was 11-1.
According to attorney Tom Salata, the defense is in a holding pattern until the prosecutors decide whether to retry the case or re-indict it. If they don’t, the indictment can technically linger for years. So it’s likely the defense would file a motion to quash the indictment, allowing him to return to work as CEO.
DeKalb District Attorney Robert James said Ellis lied to the grand jury about threatening to cut county contracts and used county time and resources to help his personal campaign.
During the testimony, employees from four companies told jurors they felt threatened by Ellis’ efforts to solicit a campaign contribution. Power and Energy Services never received work from Dekalb County again. Two companies, Merrell Brothers and Ciber, withdrew their contracts, the network reported.
Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May, who also makes $153,000, said that state rules require Ellis be paid his salary, even though he is not working, until such time as he is either convicted or exonerated.

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