Sunday, Aug. 21, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Public defender faces criminal chargesBy LEE WILLIAMS Griffin Judicial Circuit Chief Public Defender Arthur Hurst English IV has found himself with yet another legal problem just seven months after taking office. English was charged Thursday with two counts of theft by receiving stolen property and one count of removal or falsification of an identifying number, said Capt. Mike Stephens, chief operations director for Lamar County Sheriffs Department. All three charges are felonies, Stephens said. One of the theft by receiving stolen property charges involves a trailer. The other involves a four-wheeler, Stephens indicated. English was booked in and processed and he went before the magistrate judge and the magistrate judge released him on an OR bond, Stephens said. Lamar County Magistrate Judge William Thomas presided over the Arthur English case. Englishs family has seen its share of legal troubles this year. Englishs mother, Shanna English, 60, of 901 Thomaston St., Barnesville, was arrested April 15 for felony theft by receiving stolen property. Shanna English allegedly accepted jewelry stolen during a burglary in Lamar County. Englishs brother, Mac English, 28, of Barnesville, is serving a 13-year sentence in Autry State Prison. Mac English was convicted in July on two counts of criminal solicitation of murder and one count of criminal solicitation to conceal the death of another. Mac English was convicted for attempting to arrange the murder of two former Department of Natural Resources Rangers: Al White, who is now an investigator with the Towaliga Circuit Public Defenders Office in Forsyth in Monroe County; and Joe Buice, who is now the Lamar County Sheriff. Arthur Englishs arrest is connected to Mac Englishs arrest, Stephens indicated. We got information from the GBI when they were doing the investigation of Mac English and we were able to put the information together and make an arrest, Stephens said. English oversees an office that handles indigent cases in Spalding, Pike, Upson and Fayette counties. Prior to his Thursday arrest, English took a 60-day leave of absence from his post to deal with unspecified health and personal issues. Meanwhile, a special solicitor has been requested by Spalding County State Solicitor Trey Howell III to weigh in on another legal problem that faces him. The solicitor will determine if English was face a misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge for the March 11 death of former Locust Grove city manager 61-year-old Hiram Graybill Daniel Jr. of Stockbridge. English was behind the wheel of a white 2004 GMC Yukon when he failed to stop and slammed into the back of Daniels white 1998 Ford Mustang in Spalding County. Daniel was transported by air ambulance to Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta where he later died from subdural hematoma, an injury to the brain, Spalding County Coroner Sonny Foster said. English initially was cited for driving too fast for conditions. However, the charge was retracted once Georgia State Patrol officials learned of Daniels death. A four-month investigation into the case launched by the GSP Special Collision Reconstruction Team was concluded on July 14, SCRT Commander Lt. Ken Peterman said. Family members including Daniels son Tony Daniel of Newnan and sister, June Gunn of Millen say they arent pushing for a prosecution, but they want Arthur English to pay restitution. Tony Daniel indicated the family is still grappling with an estimated $20,000 debt for medical bills and funeral expenses that resulted from his fathers death. Daniel was a former epidemiologist for the Georgia Department of Community Health and substitute teacher for Morrow Middle School. Daniel also was a commissioner of the Atlanta Amateur Softball Association. He was en route to Tallahassee to umpire a college softball tournament when the accident occurred in Griffin.
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