MDJ Staff/ Laura Moon
MARIETTA – Sixteen months after entering into a pretrial diversion program with the State of Georgia, Jessica Colotl’s felony false swearing charge has been dismissed.
Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley signed an “order to dismiss” Wednesday in the case against Colotl, whose 2010 arrest after a traffic stop nearly led to her deportation.
“When I took office Jan. 2, (the motion to dismiss) was still on my desk, so I went about finding a way to resolve it,” said Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds on Thursday. “I learned it was on the calendar for (Jan. 9), so I called Assistant District Attorney Greg Epstein and told him that we needed to do whatever we could to close this case.”
After reviewing the case front to back, Reynolds said he came to the conclusion that the Cobb District Attorney’s Office was “bound by its agreement,” even though he wasn’t involved in the case initially, as former District Attorney Pat Head retired effective Dec. 31.
“There was an agreement made 16 months ago, where the District Attorney’s Office had agreed to proceed with some sort of dismissal,” he said. “I reviewed that agreement, I believed that the state legally and ethically was bound by that agreement, and I believe the District Attorney’s Office has to abide by its word.”
Reynolds reached out to Colotl’s defense attorney, Jerome Lee with Taylor, Lee and Associates of Atlanta, and spoke to Staley about having the case resolved.
“She was in agreement that it should be dismissed,” he said. “The order was prepared, we had a brief hearing in court where (Staley) read the order into the record, then her honor proceeded to sign the record.”
Staley was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Reynolds said his understanding of the case was that on Aug. 31, 2011, Head reached an agreement with Colotl that allowed her to enter into a pretrial diversion program, which required Colotl to complete at least 150 hours of community service, pay an admission fee to complete the program and provided the District Attorney’s Office with at least three letters of references from individuals who attested to her character.
“She successfully completed her end of the deal,” Reynolds said. “She did what the state asked her to do.”
Upon Colotl’s completion of the program, Head’s office submitted a dismissal motion to Staley, but Reynolds said either the judge or Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren “became concerned about the case, or at least expressed concern about the way it was handled,” thus causing it to carry on for 16 months and bounce between court calendars the latter part of 2012.
“I think there had been some contention in this case and in the record … I was not at liberty to express an opinion one way or the other,” he said. “I inherited it some 16 months later and felt that the DA was bound by the agreement, whether the present administration agrees or disagrees.”
In a statement released by Warren, he said he was disappointed in Head’s decision to defer Colotl’s case and allow her to enter into the program but understood that Reynolds inherited the case and was bound by a prior decision.
“I respect District Attorney Reynolds and look forward to working with him,” he said. “I also appreciated the fact that he took the time to discuss with me his decision to dismiss this case prior to releasing it to the media.
“However, as I have said before, it is my opinion that Ms. Colotl deserves no special consideration in the criminal justice process for decisions she made as an adult to violate the laws of this state. Affording her special treatment in this situation would send the wrong message to our youth and other members in our society.”
Colotl’s case began in March 2010 after a traffic stop on the campus of Kennesaw State University. She didn’t have a driver’s license and was taken to the Cobb County Jail, where she gave jailers an old address as her current one, resulting in the felony charge of making false statements.
An illegal immigrant, she also was turned over to federal immigration authorities, who later let her stay in the United States.
Colotl Consent Dismiss by mdjonline
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Marco Rubio is introducing legislation w/ pathway to citizenship for all that are here.
It was never a doubt in my mind that the wealthy were never going to let their cheap labor slip away.
pLUS, THE CHEAP LABOR DON'T LIVE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS OR GO TO THEIR PRIVILEGED SCHOOLS, so
Happy dance for the traitors!!
Make her the new Ga Attorney General, giving Sam Olens early retirement.
Strip Sheriff Warren of his gun & badge. Replace him w/ Rich Pelligrino.
Retire Governor Deal. Welcome our new governor, Jerry Gonzalas.
Take DA Kings citizenship, military service, patriotism & throw it in the trash.
Strip all Americans of their guns & rights.
Burn the Constitution!
Burn the flag!
Then & only then, we might begin to awaken.
Federal officials who perpetuate the story of racial persecution to further a political agenda is evidence that the "System" exists - but it isn't the "system" we the tax payers and citizens consented to. The "System" will reward this behavior until it is no longer politically expedient to do so.
Haven't noticed how quickly we are losing our rights, Americans are being molested, arrested, silenced & the criminals arenow running the country?
Infowars.com
Have you looked around lately?
Any Home Depot, Chik-Filet, McDonalds, construction crews, road crews, school campuses, Must Ministries, food stamps, shelter, emergency rooms, free dental care, Mexican resturants, government forms in spanish, bilingual job seekers get preference, press 1 for english, South Cobb Drive, Smyrna, Marietta, Austell, Gwinnett County, Gainsville, carpet mills, electricians, roofers, business owners, home owners, slap on the wrist, turn a bling eye, silence Amrican's, head's in the sand, etc,. etc.
It's all about helping these illegals become established & entrenched in America.
Everything is geared towards bringing in illegals, making them 'comfortably illegal', while fundamentally changing the face of this country!
The fact here is that while the young lady was in the wrong, the politicos...and yes, the sheriff included....decided to make an example of her. It wasn't some landscaper they stopped doing the same thing....which happens more than you can imagine...it was a college girl trying to make something of herself. They wanted to paint a picture with this case, only it backfired. If you would like to talk about special treatment, let's go back two years ago to a certain party in a certain neighborhood with the children of certain well-connected individuals. I don't seem to remember many people there telling the truth either, and not only were they citizens, but they were the children of some well positioned folks.
Time for the troops to move on.
YOU are what is wrong with this country and why we have lost it.
Tell you what, I know for a fact my children will not have to lie on an application to gain entry to a college and to receive in-state tuition since we live in GA legally.
The young woman lied to authorities on a numerous occasions, including her immagration status.
This has nothing to do with profiling as she was caught driving illegally. Lied to officers when questioned.
She broke numerous laws and received special treatment due to the media exposure.
1. Giving false information to law enforcement IS a bailable offense (and a low bail at that) unless there is a serious underlying crime associated with it.
2. Pretrial diversion for something as simple as this is COMMONPLACE.
3. Every other agency has done the reasonable thing, but good ole "hang 'em high" Cobb County has held this single motion up for an entire year just because of politics.
4. The comments on here illustrate the height of ignorance of how the system works in real day-to-day practice and further shows why Cobb has the reputation for having judges like Staley (and several others) and a Sheriff that use their power corruptly when it fits a political agenda.
Happy to let Warren and Staley ensure your standard of living and safety in your community and equally happy to hand out unfounded criticism.
hypocrite.
They warned us.
When will she repay the taxpayers for all the free medical care, free benefits, and illegal use of the Hope scholarship by lying on her application that she was a legal resident.
Ground war, hand to hand combat, who would your money be on ? The fat little Americans or the Chinese & Iranians?
You better grow some fast, American boys!
The Shepple must get much more involved in all Judicial Campaigns!