CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A state leader has admitted to destroying signed orders from judges.
That is a part of what a Channel 2 Action News investigation uncovered when we began looking into allegations a Clayton County man was wrongfully kept on probation.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now involved in the case.
"I think about Watergate (scandal) when I think about this and the shredding of documents," said former probationer John Walker.
Walker was on probation for bribery. He credits a state employee who went against his superiors’ wishes and a new attorney for getting him off.
A judge sentenced Walker to five years’ probation in 2011.
He told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Erica Byfield that nearly two years into his probation, he learned he would qualify for early termination.
Walker told Byfield he was thrilled and ready to move on. Ultimately, it would take the former Clayton Schools security director months of fighting to make that happen.
Wayne Kendall is Walker's attorney.
Kendall told Byfield that the day before Walker's probation revocation hearing in 2014, he stopped by the Clayton County Probation Office to obtain a copy of his client's file.
"John had told me that he thought he should have been off probation because the probation officer at the time told him he was being processed off of probation," Kendall said.
He says he spoke to Clayton County Probation Chief Chiquita Dean about his client's file.
"I went to her office, she started to tell me that, 'No, that had not happened, he had not been approved for early termination,' and I indicated to her that I nevertheless wanted to see the records," he said.
Kendall added he did not know it at the time, but a probation officer, Andrew Scott, who was familiar with Walker's case, heard their conversation.
"Mr. Scott approached me and indicated to me that he had overheard the conversation and that the information that I was being given, that Mr. Walker had not been terminated off of probation was, in fact, false information," he said.
Kendall told Byfield that in that conversation, he learned Scott believed his boss destroyed Walker's signed early termination order.
"I didn't believe it, really, I was skeptical," Kendall said.
"I told him, ‘Sir, I know you don’t know me, and I'm not the officer that is currently on this case,’” Scott told Byfield.
The veteran probation officer added he decided to speak to Kendall after praying.
"It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life," he said.
What Scott did cost him his job but kept Walker out of prison.
"I really believe he was touched by God to do that," Walker said.
Records Channel 2 Action News obtained show a probation officer sent paper work in September 2013 to Judge Matthew Simmons to end Walker's probation.
"The petition for early termination has been completed and PO has placed the petition in Judge Simmons' box to be signed," the internal note reads.
The next entry is from Dean on October 1. It says, "FOA Discharge... not sent to the judge in error and therefore voided by the Chief."
There is no mention of the early termination.
"It's very strange," Scott told Byfield.
He said early termination paperwork and first-offender discharge paperwork are never apart.
Byfield called Dean.
She said she could not comment without the approval of the Department of Corrections.
A spokesperson for the agency said no to an interview because of pending litigation.
Channel 2 Action News did get Dean's side of the story through audio recordings of her conversations with state investigators.
"Did you shred, destroy or discard a petition for early termination for probationer Walker?" an investigator asked.
"No, ma'am," Dean replied.
"Did you void it?" the investigator questioned.
"Yes," Dean said.
Dean told Simmons the same thing in open court. There is a transcript of her testimony.
The problem is there is no proof -- the document no longer exists.
In February, Simmons ruled "it is more likely than not" he signed the order, and he immediately ended Walker's probation.
Byfield spoke to a retired judge.
"That is an incredible situation," retired Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Moore said.
During the same taped interview, Dean dropped a bombshell.
"Have you ever destroyed a signed order from a judge?" the investigator asked.
"Yes, only as it relates to being wrong, not because I’m trying to keep someone from getting it," Dean said.
"You don't have that authority ... that would be, in my opinion, a violation of the Georgia law," Moore said in reaction.
Dean's revelation got the attention of nine Clayton County lawmakers.
They sent letters to Clayton County's police chief, sheriff and chief judge demanding an investigation.
"If we all have to follow the law, then the judicial system has to follow the law," said Democratic Clayton County state Sen. Gail Davenport.
The GBI got involved in the case in March.
The next day, Scott lost his job.
"Do you think talking to Wayne Kendall cost you your job?" Byfield asked.
"I do," Scott said. "I feel like there are some things that they possibly didn't want to come out in the way that they did."
Other documentation Channel 2 Action News found shows Dean told investigators she will destroy signed orders from three Superior Court judges, but not a fourth, because that judge tracks what she signs.
Byfield attempted to ask the judges if they have made any administrative changes in the wake of these developments.
The court administrator responded to her inquiry. He said the judges agreed to not comment because of pending litigation.
Walker and Scott are considering their legal options, including civil litigation.
WSBTV
