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Ga. Supreme Court Reverses Burrell Ellis Convictions

November 30th, 2016

This story is breaking and will be updated with more information.

Georgia’s highest court has reversed the convictions of a former DeKalb County official who was accused of pressuring vendors for campaign contributions.

The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the attempted extortion and perjury convictions against former DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis. Justice Harold Melton wrote in the unanimous opinion that the evidence was sufficient to convict Ellis but that the convictions had to be reversed because of technical errors during his trial.

Ellis was found guilty in July 2015 of perjury and attempted theft by extortion and was sentenced to serve 18 months of a five-year sentence in prison. He was released early in March after serving about eight months.

A spokesman for DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said his office reviewing the decision.