Senior ADA Alex Stone named circuit-wide Gang and Gun Violence Prosecutor:

District Attorney Randy McGinley announces that Senior Assistant District Attorney Alex Stone will be circuit-wide Gang/Gun Violence Prosecutor:

Every day we hear and see news about gang and gun violence across our country and in our State. While Newton and Walton Counties are great communities to live and work in, we are not immune from these issues. Sadly, some of our own communities and community members have been greatly and negatively affected by this.

The entire Circuit has come together to address this issue. Recently, Newton County, Walton County, the City of Covington, and the City of Monroe agreed to jointly fund a position with the DA’s office that can focus on Gang and Gun violence across BOTH Counties. Senior Assistant DA Alex Stone is filling this important role. She has handled criminal matters in both counties, including gang crimes, serious violent crime, sex crimes, and murders. She is a perfect fit for this position which will include working closely with all local law enforcement agencies, as well as state and federal agencies. Alex’s abilities in and out of the courtroom will be a great benefit to Newton and Walton Counties.

We have seen a rise of violent cases in which parties have ties to both Newton and Walton and other surrounding counties. Having a prosecutor dedicated to handling these cases will ensure the best outcomes and make our communities safer. These cases will often focus on larger, longer investigations; include multiple defendants; and require expert knowledge of gangs, ballistics, social media, and other important evidence.

This is part of my office’s multi-prong approach to help combat gang and gun violence. On cases involving gun violence, we have strengthened the recommendations of probation (post confinement) conditions. We have worked together with law enforcement to prioritize gang and gun violence cases. We worked together with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Monroe Police Department, Social Circle Police Department, Porterdale Police Department, and Oxford Police Department to obtain State grant money over $100,000 to help combat criminal gang activity in our circuit.

Senior ADA Stone will also work with others in the office in addressing gang activity before it starts. We are reaching out to schools, community organizations, and others to meet and discuss the evils of gang culture with our youth and parents. We believe that prosecuting violent gang and gun offenders AND discouraging our youth from joining gangs or committing gun violence is the best approach, long term, to this issue.

I want to thank the County Commissioners of both Newton and Walton Counties and the City Council Members of Covington and Monroe for their support of my Office and their communities.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Alex or me if you have questions or our like Office to come speak to your civic or community group. Senior ADA Stone can be reached at astone@pacga.org or 770-784-2070 and I can be reached at rmcginley@pacga.org or 404-247-1092.

District Attorney Randy McGinley

Medical Examiners and Autopsies

From District Attorney Randy McGinley: The Chief Medical Examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation put out a very informative video about autopsies and the findings that are made by medical examiners. https://fb.watch/v/2-tavQELu/

These findings are often reported by news organizations but with little or no explanation as to their meaning. Many of you have probably heard in the news that a medical examiner's office has determined a death to be a "homicide." As Dr. Eisenstat explains, this is a MEDICAL determination, not a LEGAL determination. It simply means that the death was caused by another person. But this determination alone does not make the death a criminal act.

News organizations will often treat this finding as "breaking news" even when the case involves a claim of self defense. When someone claims that they acted in self defense, they are admitting to causing the death. Therefore, the medical examiner determining that the death is a "homicide" in that situation should surprise no one. The medical examiner's finding has nothing to do with whether the death was justified (meaning the act would legally be considered self defense). The finding does not mean that the death was or was not a crime, including murder or manslaughter. It is merely a finding that the death was cause by another person.

The determination as to whether the person causing the death will face criminal charges is left to law enforcement and the district attorney's office based on the totality of the facts and circumstances. The autopsy can help in that decision. For example, the autopsy may show that the direction of the wounds that cause the death would not support a claim of self defense.

As Dr. Eisenstat also explains, the finding that a death was an "accident" does not mean that it was not a criminal act. Under Georgia law, if an individual is driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a drug, and this DUI causes the death of another person, that is vehicular homicide. This does not require proof that the death was intended by the person driving under the influence. In these situations, the "manner" of death would be classified as an "accident" by a medical examiner. However, it is crime, and a serious one.

There are countless other scenarios that a medical examiner's determination may not lead to a common sense conclusion as to whether there was a crime involved with the death. That is because those are two separate determinations. The medical examiner is ONLY making a medical determination as to the cause of death, NOT a legal determination.

District Attorney Randy McGinley Announces Update to Pre-Trial Intervention Program

District Attorney Randy McGinley is proud to announce the implementation of an updated Pre-Trial Intervention Program (PTIP) in the Alcovy Judicial Circuit. The program was started in 2017 and since that time it has helped hundreds of individuals get a second chance at having a clean record. This update seeks to continue this success by both streamlining and expanding the program.

For those that are not familiar, the Alcovy PTIP serves as an alternative to the traditional prosecution of first-time and lower level offenders by diverting them from the criminal justice system while also keeping the community safe and ensuring justice for victims. This program is designed with the following goals:

- Deter future criminal conduct;

- Reduce the number of less serious cases in the courts;

- Provide restitution to the victim;

- Provide an offender with an opportunity to accept responsibility without having a criminal conviction on their record;

- Provide rehabilitative services, life-skills training, and other opportunities to correct the underlying issues that led to criminal activity instead of incarceration; and

- Protect the community by supervising participants.

Georgia law (OCGA § 15-18-80) allows for the District Attorney’s Office to create and administer such a program. Entry into the program shall be at the discretion of the District Attorney based upon written guidelines. However, by law any crime that requires a mandatory minimum sentence of incarceration or imprisonment that cannot be probated is ineligible for participation in the program.

Those that apply for PTIP (or are given an offer to participate from my office) will be screened by the prosecutor assigned to the case in order to determine whether the case qualifies for PTIP. Additionally, the assigned prosecutor will decide which Track the participant fits into. The program will have two Tracks: Track I is the “drug track” and Track II is the non-drug track. Track I will cover not only drug possession crimes, but also crimes which arose from substance abuse issues. Track I is a longer program than Track II and includes intensive drug screening and treatment designed to address the participant’s underlying problems with addiction.

In addition to shifting to the two Track systems, below is a summary of the other major changes to the program:

- The District Attorney’s Office will no longer be supervising participants. That duty will fall to Georgia Probation Management. This puts supervision in the hands of those who do that regularly while freeing time for DA’s Investigators to focus on serious and violent crimes.

- The default will be that any restitution due to victims will be paid in full at the initial supervision meeting. Therefore, victims will more quickly be made whole.

- There will be a monthly supervision fee. However, the initial fee to enter the program has been lowered in light of this.

- More drug possession crimes will qualify for participation. This includes all Schedule III, IV, and V substances as well as marijuana. More serious drugs that are listed in Schedules I and II are not eligible because of the nature of those substances. Exceptions are made for THC oil and cocaine. Additionally, cases involving a small number of marijuana plants that are clearly for personal use only will be eligible for entry into the program. Crimes involving sale, trafficking, and possession with intent to distribute will continue to be ineligible for the Alcovy PTIP.

- Track I can be supervised for between 6-12 months, while Track II, the non-drug track cases, can be supervised for between 3-6 months.

- Payments will now be made to Georgia Probation Management instead of the Clerk’s Office of each county, which expands the methods by which payments can be made (i.e., online).

As both offices continue to diligently and successfully work towards resolving any backlog of ready for trial cases, we recognize that non-violent and less serious crimes committed by those with no criminal history can often be resolved through intervention rather than prosecution. Those that successfully complete the program will have their charges dismissed and the arrest will automatically be restricted (expunged) from their record.

One important thing that has not changed is that victims will always be consulted prior to a participants’ entry into the program.

More information is available in the PTIP Handbook, including details as to what cases may or may not be eligible. A copy of the Handbook is available on our website by visiting https://www.alcovydaoffice.org/pretrial-diversion-program.

Randy McGinley

District Attorney

Alcovy Judicial Circuit