Columbus DA-elect dismisses senior prosecutors in transition to taking office next year
The district attorney-elect for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit headquartered in Columbus has dismissed at least seven senior prosecutors in anticipation of taking office next year.
More staff changes are likely, said Columbus attorney Christopher Breault, who’s serving as DA-elect Mark Jones’ “transition coordinator.”
“One thing that Mark has told me is that this is the first wave of personnel changes that he plans to make,” Breault said.
The prosecutors were notified with a one-sentence letter delivered to the district attorney’s office via courier, to be placed in their incoming mail. The letter said only that their services will not be needed as of Jan. 1.
“I saw those letters in quite a few boxes,” Assistant District Attorney Ray Daniel said Tuesday. He was among those who got one. “It’s basically one sentence.”
Daniel said it came as a shock, as he’d otherwise not heard from Jones and was preparing for trials to resume when the courts ease restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was planning on trying cases next month,” Daniel said. He tried to contact Jones, with no success, he said: “He didn’t answer his email, so no response.”
Besides Daniel, other prosecutors receiving letters were:
- Chief Assistant District Attorney Al Whitaker.
- Senior Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly.
- Assistant District Attorney George Lipscomb.
- Assistant District Attorney Wesley Lambertus.
- Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Schwartz.
- Assistant District Attorney Wayne Jernigan.
Breault said Jones will have replacements on staff next year: “Several hires have been made, and he has a nationwide search going on.”
The office has a total staff of 69, including 29 assistant district attorneys. Its annual budget is more than $5 million.
Jones has met with other city leaders to keep them apprised of his plans, Breault said. Jones did not respond to a call seeking comment.
He defeated current District Attorney Julia Slater in the June 9 Democratic Primary and faced no Republican opponent in the Nov. 3 General Election in the circuit that includes the counties of Harris, Chattahoochee, Talbot, Taylor and Marion.
Jones has promised to pursue an aggressive trial schedule next year. Dismissing the office’s more experienced staff will not affect that, Breault said, adding Jones has told Chief Judge Gil McBride that he will be ready to proceed when trials resume.
Other attorneys privately worried the personnel changes will impede getting cases to trial, as new prosecutors take time to review the evidence.
“He’s getting rid of every senior person in that office, and it doesn’t make any sense,” said one.
“That’s our most experienced trial attorneys,” said another. “It’s just stupid.”
As he prepares to become the circuit’s chief prosecutor, Jones is also a defendant, having been indicted on several felony counts related to an alleged DUI crash in 2019, and to the filming of a campaign ad in the Columbus Civic Center parking lot, where investigators claimed he and his supporters caused $300,000 in damage by spinning tires on the pavement.
Breault maintains those charges will not affect Jones’ taking office in January because they are unrelated to his serving as district attorney.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 3:05 PM.