GA legislators react - already - to State Trooper murder
We’d predicted that in the wake of State Trooper Chadwick LeCroy’s shooting death, Gold Dome lawmakers would introduce legislation to crackdown on repeat offenders and the apparent ease with which they get out of jail. On Wednesday — slightly more than a week after LeCroy’s Dec. 27 murder — State Rep. Len Walker (R-Loganville) filed House Bill 32, the “Trooper First Class Chadwick LeCroy Act,” to make it more difficult for people charged with certain serious crimes to be released on their own recognizance.
Per the legislation, for a violent or repeat offender to be released, an elected Magistrate, or elected State or Superior Court judge would have to submit an order explaining why an exception should be made.
The suspect in LeCroy’s killing, Gregory Favors, is a 30-year-old career criminal with 19 arrests and 10 convictions in Fulton and Cobb counties under his belt. Since Favors’ extensive criminal record came to light, there’s been widespread scrutiny of the Fulton County Court system, in particular, its Non-complex Division, which hears in the realm of 70 percent of Fulton County felony cases and which Favors had appeared before three times recently. In response to a strongly-worded letter signed by Mayor Kasim Reed, District Attorney Paul Howard and Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, the Fulton County Courts announced on Tuesday that an elected Superior Court judge will now oversee the Non-complex Division, rather than an unelected magistrate judge.
What the letter and the new legislation fail to mention is that Favors was released following his most recent arrest (less than two weeks prior to LeCroy’s shooting) because the court didn’t have a warrant or officer affidavit to review. Submission of a warrant or officer statement would have been up to the Atlanta Police Department. Technically, the court had no choice but to let Favors go. Explained Judge Cynthia D. Wright in a recent statement, “To determine probable cause, a magistrate must have something to review — either a warrant or the testimony of an arresting officer.”
According to APD spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport, the department is “investigating” the apparent failure to procure or submit a warrant to the court. He was unable to comment further. The bill also doesn’t necessarily address the impact it might have on the state’s — especially Atlanta’s — already overcrowded jails.