Wednesday, April 3, 2002
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Wednesday, April 3, 2002 |
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Parking ticket turns into felony perjury conviction: The truth will come out On Jan. 31, 2001, Charles Toombs received several tickets from Deputy Hammond of the Fayette County Marshall's office for improper parking. His vehicle was blocking a lane of traffic, and he had previously been warned for such behavior. On his court date in the State Court of Fayette County, Mr. Toombs denied parking his vehicle at that location, and claimed, under oath, that he wasn't even in the state of Georgia at that time. Even though the deputy and Solicitor General Steve Harris disbelieved him, Mr. Toombs was found not guilty because the state couldn't disprove his alibi defense at that time. Undaunted, and determined to have the truth prevail, Deputy Hammond worked with Solicitor General Harris and the State Patrol, and obtained proof that Mr. Toombs not only was in Georgia at that time, but had renewed his driver's license that very day. Armed with this newly discovered evidence, a warrant was obtained by Deputy Hammond and Solicitor General Harris charging Mr. Toombs with perjury as a result of his false testimony at his trial. On March 19, 2002, Mr. Toombs pled guilty pursuant to the first offender act to one count of perjury, a felony, transforming a parking ticket into a felony count with three years of probation and over $1,000 in fines and surcharges. It is sometimes frustrating, during a daily pursuit of the truth, to see person after person come into court with no respect for the sanctity of the courtroom, the justice system, nor the truth. After the Clinton administration, we as a society have come to accept that a lie can be acceptable for the "right reason." The truth has no shades of gray in a courtroom, and it is nice to occasionally prove that point, no matter now long it takes. Steven L. Harris Solicitor-General
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