Walton County District Attorney's Office

Today we honor and remember those great Americans that gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our great country. Because of these men and women we enjoy the freedoms and life we have today. Our offices were closed today for this solemn national holiday. We will reopen tomorrow at 8am. - District Attorney Randy McGinley

Last week, a Monroe man was convicted in two cases joined for trial. A Walton County jury found Taddius Jones guilty of Possession a Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, two counts of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, and three counts of Possession of Tools for the Commission of a Crime. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nicole Smith and Investigator Aimee Oliver. The Monroe Police Department handled the investigation and arrest. Judge Foster, who presided over the trial, ordered a that pre-sentence investigation be conducted and set sentencing for July 14.

Yesterday 1025 Church honored and thanked the County Walton District Attorneys’s Office. District Attorney Randy McGinley, Chief ADA Cliff Howard, Deputy Chief ADA Jennifer Hendee, and Senior ADA Jacqueline Fletcher joined the Walton County GA Sheriff's Office and City of Monroe Police Department at the service and a great lunch afterwards. Thank you for the kind words and prayers for our office.

Happy Mother’s Day!

District Attorney Randy McGinley announces implementation of updated Pre-Trial Diversion 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...Continue reading

Office Schedule for Christmas week: Please be aware that the Walton County District Attorney's Office as well as the rest of the Walton County Government Building will be closing tomorrow, Wednesday December 23rd, at noon. The courthouse and the DA's office will remain closed until Monday, December 28th due to the Christmas Holiday. Because our office and the Walton County Superior Court Clerk's Office will be closed, Temporary Protective Orders will not be able to be proces...sed. Any TPO application will need to be completed by 10:30am tomorrow. Please be mindful, that if you are ever in fear for your immediate safety or that of your family, call 9-1-1.

Walton DA’s Office celebrates 2020 employees of the year: 2020 has been a challenging and different year for many reasons. Court and the DA’s office almost came to a complete shut down multiple times. We quickly adapted to virtual court to ensure that the justice system did not stop functioning. So many people in the DA’s office worked long, long hours both in the office and remotely. The following individuals were chosen as the employee of the year for each of the divisions ...in the office: Assistant District Attorney of the year: Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Cliff Howard (left); Investigator of the year: Greg Greene (right); Legal Assistant of the year: Nikki Garner; Victim Advocate of the year: Donna Brandenburg. Please join me in congratulating and thanking each of them for their service to Walton County. -Randy McGinley

From our families to yours, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

As we work towards jury trials restarting early next year, I want to make sure the public is aware of everything that is going on in your courts: From Acting District Attorney Randy McGinley regarding the restarting of Grand Juries in Newton and Walton Counties: Since March, the court systems in both Newton and Walton Counties have been operating differently in many regards. Once major obstacle was that we were not allowed to hold any sessions of grand jury or impanel a new g...Continue reading

From Randy McGinley: Please join me and the District Attorney's Office in welcoming Judge Cheveda McCamy to her first day on the bench. Judge McCamy is currently presiding over criminal court in Walton County. All in custody cases are being handled via Zoom.

Victim Advocates Suzanna Maulfair and Asia Reese are who we are highlighting today for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Suzanna has been with the Walton office for over 3 years, the last year and a half as a victim advocate. Asia has been a victim advocate in Newton County for 4 years. Join me in thanking them for their hard work and dedication to those who have been victims in our communities. - Randy McGinley

As October comes to an end, the last (but certainty not least) Victim Advocates we highlight are Donna Brandenburg and Ellen Bales. Donna has been with our Walton office for 1 year. Ellen has been a Victim Advocate in Newton County for 1.5 years, but has been in the office for a total of 4 years. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication to the people of Newton and Walton. - Randy McGinley

Weather is affecting the opening of the Walton Government Building today. The building, which includes the courts, is currently without power. The opening of the building is delayed until 10am. Preliminary hearings scheduled for this morning in Magistrate Court will not begin until 11am. - Randy McGinley

Please join me in thanking Victim Advocates Gaby Arredondo and Lacy Martin for their dedication to helping victims in our communities. Gaby has been in our Newton County Office 4 years. Lacy has been with our Walton County Office for over 2.5 years. Remember, October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence in Newton or Walton counties, please reach out to our office. Gaby and Lacy are just 2 of our 11 victim advocates who are here for you. As always, if you are in immediate danger, call 911. - Randy McGinley

Let’s keep honoring our offices’ great Victim Advocates during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This morning we highlight Kathy Smith and Cindy Hooper. Kathy has been with our Walton Office for almost 3 years. Cindy has been in our Newton Office for 5 years. Both go the extra mile every day to help victims of crimes in our communities. Please join me in thanking these two hard working and amazing individuals! - Randy McGinley

From Randy McGinley: Today, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed convictions in two 2018 jury trials. First, Harold William George was convicted on June 14, 2018 of 2 counts of Child Molestation, 2 counts of Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes, and 6 counts of Sexual Battery. He was later sentenced to 30 years with the first 20 years in prison. George claimed that the the trial court improperly denied a number of pretrial motions filed by the defense and denied a motion ...for mistrial. The Court of Appeals rejected these arguments and upheld his conviction and sentence. The case was tried and the appeal was handled by Senior District Attorney Jacqueline Fletcher. The Georgia Court of Appeals also upheld the August 8, 2018 conviction of Jenny "Judy" Hanks for Manufacturing Marijuana, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, and Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony. The Court of Appeals rejected the claims by Hank noting that the evidence against Hanks was "overwhelming." The case was tried and the appeal was handled by Assistant District Attorney Lacey Majors.

From Randy McGinley: Today is National Wear Purple Day, #purplethursday, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Both the Newton and Walton Offices wore purple or our shirts with purple ribbons to raise awareness in the fight to stop domestic violence. Our offices work tirelessly for victims of domestic violence and all crimes in our communities. Looking for any help or resources contact our office or call 911 if you are in immediate danger. Visit https://www.alcovydaoffice....org/victim-services for contact information and resources available in our communities. In addition to pictures of each office, I have included pictures of our victim advocates, even though some were out of the office or in court today. These individuals, pictured or not, are the backbone of this office and do so much for those in our community who are going through hard times.

Happy Boss’s Day to our fearless leader and the best boss ever! We celebrate him today but we appreciate him every day. P.S. If you’ve ever wondered what fuel keeps Randy going, here’s a sneak peek.

Update from Randy McGinley on the Project Renewal Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Inc. Hygiene Drive put on by the Walton County Domestic Violence Task Force: Both our Newton and Walton Offices have had a huge success in collecting items for the Project ReNeWal domestic violence shelter. Every item goes to help someone affected by domestic violence locally. Anyone wishing to join this drive, please let us know. Thank you to all the other departments in Newton and Walton who joined us in this great cause. And thank you to ADAs Annie Yasin and Lacey Majors for heading up the collection in each county.

A reminder from your District Attorney’s Office: Love Shouldn’t Hurt Visit https://www.alcovydaoffice.org/victim-services to find contact information for numerous resources in Newton and Walton Counties.

From Randy McGinley: For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the District Attorney's Offices will be highlighting our Victim Services Department and all they do to help victims and survivors of domestic violence. Each office, Newton and Walton, has a Victim Services Director. Kim Kelly (pictured first) is the Victim Services Director in Walton County. Kim has been in the DA's Office for almost 16 years. She is a lifelong resident of Walton County where she lives with her hus...band, her son, and her daughter. The Victim Services Director in Newton is Leslie Smith (pictured second). Leslie is a lifelong Newton County resident and has been a part of the DA's Office from 1993-1997 and from 2003 until the present. She lives in Newton County with her husband and has 2 sons. These two amazing individuals work with victims on a daily basis, usually on the most serious cases in our office. In addition to having their own caseload, they also supervise all the other victim advocates in their office. Just a few of the other countless things they do: help the other Advocates when individuals come to our offices to apply for Protective Orders and manage the budgets and grants related to victim services. Their dedication to helping victims includes being on the phone with victims at all hours and all days of the week. Kim and Leslie never treat helping victims as a job, it is their passion and a part of their daily life. Newton and Walton County would not be the same without these two amazing people. Please join me in thanking them for all they do for our office and for our communities.

From Randy McGinley: For all of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I am allowing employees in the District Attorney’s Offices in both Newton and Walton County to wear jeans on Fridays if they bring an item each week to be donated to the Walton County Domestic Violence Task Force’s Hygiene Drive for Project Renewal Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Inc. I have asked all department heads in both counties to join our office. I would like to thank Newton County Cle...rk of Superior Court Linda Hays, Walton County Clerk of Superior Court Karen David, Walton County Probate Judge Bruce Wright, Walton County Magistrate Judge Mike Burke, and Walton County Tax Commissioner Derry Boyd for having their offices join us in this great cause. I look forward to more joining us! Project ReNeWal helps victims of domestic violence in Newton, Walton, and Rockdale Counties. Anyone that wishes in joining this effort please contact ADA Annie Yasin ([email protected]) in Newton County or ADA Lacey Majors ([email protected]) in Walton County. Continue to check back all month to find out more about our offices’ work in combatting domestic violence and in helping survivors.

The Walton County District Attorney’s Office wore purple today to raise awareness for domestic violence. Your District Attorney’s Office works every day to keep those in our community safe. I am so proud of the hard work of every member in our office. Our Assistant District Attorneys, Victim Advocates, Investigators, and Legal Assistants work tirelessly day in and day out to help all survivors of domestic violence. - Randy McGinley