In 2004, my wife and I bought an investment property in Walton county Georgia in an unincorporated area just outside the city of Monroe. In April of the same year we got our first tenant, a Section 8 recipient. Shortly afterwards, we came to know the boyfriend had been living on the property. On more than one occasion the boyfriend had showed hostility toward my wife and I which later became violent and confrontational. I was advised by a member of law enforcement to arm myself against any further retaliation. I legally purchased a firearm from a local gun dealer in the city of Monroe. Assault charges were filed against my assailant.
In 2005 I was contacted by a female who worked for the office of Victims Advocate a division of the Walton County District Attorney’s office. When I received the call, she stated that they needed my help to assist them in the investigation of an investigator who was working for the Public Defender’s office. The ruse was planned by Eric C. Crawford and his boss W. Kendall Wynne Jr. now a judge. There is also evidence that Mr. Crawford collaborated with a fired and disgraced Monroe detective had conspired to violate my civil rights by making false allegations in the arrest warrant. Mr. Crawford never presented the case to the grand jury.
Shortly after my arrival to the office of the District attorney I was met with by two young police officers who escorted me to another area. After a brief wait, one of the officer’s came back into the room and informs me there is a problem. He shows me a form which stated that I was being arrested for making a false statement on an ATF form and that I was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. I remember reading 459 P.C. from a 1971 arrest in California. I was horrified. I was taken to the Walton county jail for processing were I was released on a property bond several hours later.
During my incarceration and just before my first appearance, someone had called the Magistrate court and told the female Magistrate not to release me claiming I was a dangerous individual with an extensive criminal history. Release denied. This obviously did not sit well with a lieutenant who was employed by the Walton County Sheriff office and started to look further into my background. The criminal complaint stated that that I was a man with an extensive criminal history that extended from the east coast to the west coast and used several aliases. None of which was true. After the lieutenant completed his investigation he contacted the chief Magistrate and obtained my release after originally being denied.
After hiring an attorney and appearing before a judge in December 2005, all charges were dismissed. After the hearing, I contacted the Walton county District attorney’s office. This was the first time I had heard the name Eric Crawford. In 2006 I sent a letter to the office of District Attorney requesting the arrest be expunged. The response was from Eric Crawford ADA started the position in 2005. In his response he stated that in order to have the arrest expunged I would have to have my rights restored and that as far as he was concerned I was still a convicted felon and threatened me with arrest, if I was caught with a firearm.
In 2010 I hired another attorney. The arrest was expunged in a matter of days. What you should also know is that Mr. Crawford who is now in private practice is also in the same building as the District attorney. Mr. Crawford was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2005 and served as Assistant District Attorney in Walton County from 2005 to 2010. He is a Board Member, Walton County Bar Association (2012-2013); regular member since 2005.
In the interim, I found out who the person was that called the jail to demand I not be released. It was a disgraced former detective who had been fired by the Monroe P.D. I also came to know the warrant affidavit had been obtained by false statements made by this fired detective and Eric Crawford, assistant district attorney at the time. Here’s what else I know the GBI does background checks for firearms in the State of Georgia. When I originally purchased the firearm a background check was done. The gun dealer asked me had I ever been convicted of a felony. I truthfully answered “No.” In 1971 California I was arrested for unlawful possession of a motor vehicle. I was charged with a misdemeanor office and after completion of probation the charge was dismissed. There was hold placed on the weapon. Approximately ten days later the firearms dealer contacted me to come pick up the firearm.
I also discovered there was also a fax sent to the GBI office in Athens, Georgia. It stated that since I had been arrested in 1971 that they were to investigate and not to arrest until it was proven that it was in violation of Georgia law. In an online review I stated that I wanted whoever reads this review not be intimidated by the cronyism of this small town that has culture of racism and dysfunction that has existed for decades. I was victimized by Mr. Crawford and his cohorts for no other reason that I was a man of color and an outsider.
It appears that the culture in this community is to arrest and ask questions later. In America, black men have historically been depicted as aggressive, hypersexual and violent – to be controlled, to be exploited, to be tamed.
The US Justice is built to humiliate and oppress men of color.
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