​On Thursday, April 28, 2022 a Spalding County jury convicted Lend Byrd Jefferson, a 28-year-old male from Florida of multiple charges after a week of trial.
 
The jury convicted Jefferson of 2 counts of Armed Robbery, 2 counts of Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Jefferson had a prior conviction for Robbery with a Firearm out of Florida. The Honorable W. Fletcher Sams sentenced Jefferson to Life in prison without the possibility of parole.
 
Jefferson and a co-defendant who will be tried at a later date, entered Ringold’s Grocery on August 21, 2019, around 9 pm. Jefferson brandished a firearm at a store clerk while the co-defendant took money, the clerk’s purse and wallet. Jefferson and the co-defendant were arrested the next day, and the stolen property was recovered in their residence.
 
Assistant District Attorneys Adelle Petersen and Holly MacDonald tried the case for the State. “My Spalding County office has worked extremely hard these past two weeks to present these cases to a jury. This jury has spoken and let this verdict also send a message that law abiding citizens are completely fed up with violent crime in our community. To those that insist on committing violent crime, just stop. Enough is enough.” 

​On Friday, April 22, 2022 a Spalding County jury convicted Joshua Fuller, a 30-year-old male from Riverdale, Georgia and Sonya Fuller, a 45-year-old female from Riverdale, Georgia of multiple charges after a week of trial.
 
The jury convicted Joshua Fuller of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Joshua Fuller had a prior conviction for Aggravated Assault for shooting into a house. The Honorable W. Fletcher Sams sentenced Joshua Fuller to Life in prison without the possibility of parole.
 
The jury also convicted Sonya Fuller, Joshua Fuller’s mother, of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Hindering the Apprehension of a Criminal. Sonya Fuller had several prior felony convictions. The Honorable W. Fletcher Sams sentenced Sonya Fuller to Life in prison without the possibility of parole.
 
On August 31, 2020, Sonya Fuller called her son, Joshua Fuller, to her hotel room at the Quality Inn and Suites in Griffin. Anthony Red, a 52-year-old man from Griffin, GA, was inside Sonya Fuller’s hotel room. In the room, Joshua Fuller pointed a gun at Anthony, shooting and killing him. Sonya Fuller was charged and convicted as a party to Joshua Fuller’s crimes. After the murder, the two, along with others, hid evidence and lied to police.
 
Chief Assistant District Attorney David Studdard and Assistant District Attorney Adelle Petersen tried the case for the State. “this jury’s verdict sends a message to those that would commit these types of crimes in our community that this kind of lawlessness will not be tolerated”, said Studdard. District Attorney Broder echoed those statements and added “we will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to aggressively pursue those that perpetrate such lawlessness here.”

​LOCK YOUR MEDS AND DISPOSE THEM IN A SECURE AND SAFE WAY.
April 30th is DEA Take Back Day.
You can drop off your expired or unused medication between 10AM-2PM at one of the following locations:
* Peachtree City Police Department and Peachtree City Fire Rescue
* City of Fayetteville Police Department
* Fayette County Sheriff's Office - Georgia
A limited number of prescription drug lock boxes will be given away for those dropping off prescription drug medications.
Drug Free Fayette thanks these three law enforcement agencies - as well as Griffin Judicial Circuit, District Attorney's Office - for supporting the promotion of these lockboxes…

This afternoon, a Fayette County jury convicted Joseph Huggins, a 22 year old man from Charleston, GA of Armed Robbery and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime. The Honorable Scott Ballard sentenced the defendant to 15 years on the Armed Robbery and 5 years on the Firearm charge for a total of 20 years to serve in prison. Assistant District Attorney Monique Harris tried the case for the State.
 
On May 28, 2021 officers with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in Tyrone, GA and made contact with the victim of the armed robbery. The victim is a truck driver and was driving a truck with furniture from Arizona to a family’s new residence in Tyrone. He needed additional help to unload the trailer, so the dispatch company sent two additional people, one of them being the defendant. The defendant and his co-defendant were hired from Craig’s List to help with the job. The defendants asked the victim to go with them to procure additional equipment for the job. While in the car, the defendants pointed 2 guns at the victim and took everything he had on him, including: money, identification, a phone, credit cards, and his Bluetooth earbuds. They then kicked the victim out of the car, leaving him on the side of the road. The victim walked two miles back to the original address in Tyrone, and the police were called.
 
The Sheriff’s Office’s investigation identified Defendant Huggins and his co-defendant as the perpetrators of the crime. They were arrested and brought to trial. Defendant Huggins was convicted after three days of trial. The co-defendant will be tried later.
 
“I am so proud of ADA Harris and the Sheriff’s Office detective for their hard work this week.” District Attorney Broder said of the trial. “In her closing, ADA Harris told the jury that ‘the United States of America is the land of opportunity, and the victim in the case today was taking advantage of the opportunities by working hard and providing for his family. On May 28th, the defendant took advantage of him.’ I echo her sentiments. Fayette County citizens sent the message today that they will not tolerate violent crime happening here. Thank you to the jurors for that message. We will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to destroy our peace here.”

​The employees of the Griffin Judicial D.A. Office provided the children who are residents of the Promise Place shelter a special surprise Easter basket to help them celebrate the holiday. We want to wish everyone a Happy Easter and hope you enjoy this special day with family and friends.
Promise Place provides domestic violence services to residents of Pike, Spalding, Fayette and Upson Counties. For more information on the services they offer our community you can visit their website: https://promiseplace.org

​District Attorney Broder gave a presentation to the Kiwanis Club of Griffin today at their regular meeting. The District Attorney spoke on the Timothy Coggins cold case and of the role of the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office in the court system.