Crawford Lewis granted bond, released from jail

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned a judge has granted bond for ex-DeKalb County school superintendent Crawford Lewis.

Lewis walked out of jail just before 7 p.m. after pleading guilty in a racketeering case.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant confirmed a Superior Court judge signed an order granting bond for Lewis late Friday afternoon.

Lewis had been locked up since Monday after an angry Superior Court judge, Cynthia Becker, rejected the plea deal Lewis cut with prosecutors to serve just one year on probation in exchange for pleading guilty to obstruction in a racketeering case against the district's former chief operating officer and her ex-husband.

The judge's surprise move sparked a flurry of legal motions this week by Lewis' lawyers to get him sprung.

On Tuesday, his attorney filed an emergency motion urging the judge to reconsider, demanding she recuse herself if she says no, and left the door open for Lewis to withdraw his guilty plea.

With Lewis locked up and Becker out of town, on Wednesday, lawyers petitioned another judge to grant Lewis bond while this all gets sorted out.

Meanwhile, Lewis and his attorney will be back in front of Becker Tuesday morning for another hearing to decide whether she'll allow Lewis to withdraw his guilty plea.

WSBTV