Georgia Court of Appeals Rules Against Kenerly

Former Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly’s motion to quash an indictment against him on charges of accepting a bribe was denied by the Georgia Court of Appeals on Monday.

In October 2010, a special purpose grand jury indicted Kenerly on charges including one count of bribery and two counts of failing to disclose a financial interest.

The indictments claimed Kenerly failed to disclose a partnership with a developer who was seeking county rezoning of two properties at the time and was ultimately approved. Kenerly, who suspended himself from the commission the following month, was also accused of accepting or agreeing to accept a total of $1 million in bribes for setting up agreements for the county commission to buy real estate.

In July 2011, the Georgia Court of Appeals overturned the indictment charges against Kenerly, indicating that the special purpose grand jury did not possess the power to bring criminal indictments

The following month, District Attorney Danny Porter got another indictment from a regular grand jury. This year, Kenerly and his attorney sought to quash the subsequent indictment, arguing in June before a three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals that it was invalid since the first indictment was still under appeal.

Monday’s ruling upheld a 2012 Gwinnett Superior Court ruling, when a judge rejected Kenerly’s request to have the charges against him tossed out.

This is a developing story.