Acting Houston County DA welcomes back prosecutors from Macon. ‘They’re good people.’
Wednesday, Houston County Chief Deputy ADA William Kendall took over as acting district attorney following George Hartwig’s resignation.
That same day six prosecutors in Bibb County resigned to head south and work for Kendall.
It was a remarkable shift, considering the Houston County DA’s office had been short-staffed for months, one that could be interpreted multiple different ways. Kendall, who personally reached out to the six prosecutors before Hartwig’s resignation went into effect Aug. 31, said they were all returning to an office they’d worked in and loved.
“I know their work ethic; they’re good people, good prosecutors,” he said. “I reached out to them and told them I’d be in a position to hire them, and offered them the opportunity to come back... The majority of them are long-term residents of Houston County and I know they’re going to serve the best interests of the victims of Houston County.”
Bibb County DA Anita Reynolds Howard told the Telegraph earlier this week she anticipated the six prosecutors — including former DA Greg Winters — returning to Houston and that efforts were underway to fill the vacated positions.
Bibb County’s loss is Houston’s gain: With the incoming prosecutors and future hires, Kendall hopes to be back to 90% staffed by Oct. 1.
Rumors that juvenile court had to be canceled due to a lack of prosecutors in the Houston County district attorney’s office are false, Kendall and court clerks confirmed. Kendall added he’s handled juvenile court cases himself due to the “reduced staff,” and that the rumors are “concerning.”
“My general understanding is they like the law enforcement, they like the judges, they like the support staff in the Houston County DA’s office,” he said. “This is their home circuit, the county in which they live.”
Reynolds Howard said that with the coronavirus having halted jury trials in Bibb Superior Court — possibly until November — that a temporary staffing shortage in the DA’s office won’t impact the handling of cases.
“We don’t anticipate any delays based on those resignations,” Reynolds Howard said, adding that whenever trials resume “we’re ready and we’re gonna continue to be ready.”
Meanwhile, Kendall’s role is, at the moment, temporary. Gov. Brian Kemp could appoint a replacement district attorney at some point in the coming months — an application process to formally replace Hartwig wrapped up Wednesday — or Kemp could wait for a special election next year.
Hartwig, who was elected to a third term following a contentious race with his former chief deputy ADA Erikka Williams last November, resigned less than a year into his new term. Williams, who had worked in the office for more than 18 years, resigned after the election.
