Fulton Public Defender Charged With DUI

An attorney in the Fulton County Public Defender’s Office is behind bars, charged with driving under the influence.

DeKalb police said they arrested Karen Shelley early Thursday morning in front of her Decatur home. “Nobody could get in. Police officers had the whole street sealed off,” neighbor Antonio DuBose said.

DuBose said he watched the arrest from the window of his home. He said six or seven officers searched her car and other cars at the home before taking her to the DeKalb County Jail. “They were talking to her at first, then next thing you know they put the cuffs on her, put her in the back seat and drove off,” DuBose said.

DeKalb police said just after midnight, an off-duty officer spotted her Toyota Matrix weaving in and out of lanes and called for backup.

Shelley is one of 98 attorneys with the Fulton County Public Defender’s Office. Department supervisor Vernon Pitts says she’s been there for about a year and a half and says he is looking into the arrest.

Shelley is being held in the DeKalb County jail on $1,000 bond.