Washington County officials conspired to benefit from dropped charges, lawsuit says
CORRECTION: The May 26, 2024, incident involved three men: Stanley Barfield, Jason Prince and Ryan Hodges. Ryan Hodges was the one who got charged with aggravated battery. This information was incorrect in the previous version of the article.
The former solicitor general for Washington County has been accused, along with others, of conspiring to benefit from dismissing misdemeanor criminal charges in local court, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday.
Michael Howard, the former solicitor general in Washington County, has been sued for allegedly operating “a corrupt enterprise to provide favorable treatment to select criminal defendants in exchange for political, financial and/or social benefit” for three years, lawyer Ben Sessions said in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Stanley Barfield, a resident of the county. Howard is being sued alongside Sheriff Joel Cochran and attorney Johnny Vines, who are accused of being part of the scheme.
Sessions has repeatedly taken to Facebook to accuse Howard of wrongly dismissing DUI cases from 2021 to 2024 under the guise that there was insufficient evidence for the case. In the lawsuit, Sessions alleges that if favored defendants were booked into the jail, Cochran would refer their cases to Vines, who would receive payment for helping with the prosecution.
“Upon information and belief, these fees were substantial, typically ranging from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars depending on the charges,” Sessions said in the lawsuit. “Upon information and belief, Vines split these fees with Cochran and/or Howard, or provided them with other financial benefits.”
Barfield is filing the lawsuit after he was involved in an incident involving Ryan Hodges and Jason Prince, who also are being sued by Barfield. The May 26, 2024, incident between the three men resulted in Barfield allegedly being attacked by the two others unprovoked, the lawsuit says. Ryan Hodges was one of the solicitor general’s favored defendants, who had DUI cases dismissed, the lawsuit says.
Defendants accused of federal violations
Washington County and Deputy David Raley, who arrested Ryan Hodges in one of his DUI cases, are also being sued, court records say.
Howard, Cochran and Vines are accused in the lawsuit of violating the Racketeer Influences and Corrupt Organizations Act by conspiring and creating an enterprise where they allegedly commit racketeering activity, mail fraud, wire fraud, extortion under color of official right, obstruction of justice and bribery.
They, alongside Washington County, are also being accused of depriving due process and equal protection, denying access to the courts, being part of a state-created danger, breaching fiduciary duty and being negligent, the lawsuit says.
Washington County is accused of not punishing the defendants for the alleged scheme, while Richard Hodges and Raley are accused of aiding the scheme by not punishing Ryan Hodges for his DUI charges, the lawsuit says.
Barfield seeks a trial and damages, as well as a judge to punish the defendants for participating in the alleged scheme.
“This suit is just the latest in a six-month long retaliation campaign waged by Ben Sessions against Michael Howard,” W. Matthew Wilson, attorney for Howard, said. “It is completely frivolous, and we expect it won’t take long for the court to recognize that and take appropriate action.”
Cochran, Vines, Raley and the Hodges have not responded to requests for comment before publication. The Telegraph has been unable to reach Prince for a response.
Howard could face additional allegations. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia appointed Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards to oversee the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s inquiry into the former solicitor general on Aug. 1 after the allegations of mishandling DUI cases.
What led to this lawsuit?
Ryan Hodges was accused of driving under the influence twice in Washington County – once in 2021, when he was 17 years old, and the other in 2024, when he was 20 years old. Sessions argued that, despite overwhelming evidence of impaired driving in both of those occasions, Ryan Hodges didn’t face consequences. He was charged with minor traffic violations rather than a DUI in 2021, and when he faced DUI charges in 2024, he retained Vines as his attorney and Howard dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence, the lawsuit says.
If Ryan Hodges had been convicted of both of his DUI charges, he would have served jail time and had his license suspended, among other penalties, Sessions said in the lawsuit. Because he wasn’t and was “emboldened to continue drinking alcohol excessively,” Ryan Hodges and Prince attacked Barfield and caused severe head trauma, facial injuries, bodily injuries, pain and suffering.
“The attack on Barfield was the direct, natural and foreseeable consequence of Defendants’ corrupt scheme,” Sessions alleged in the lawsuit.
Ryan Hodges was just one of the many defendants who received favorable treatment, according to Sessions. A pattern of dismissals and plea agreements indicated that defendants represented by Vines allegedly had their cases dismissed or were noted to have completed a voluntary program called pre-trial diversion, despite no documentation backing the completion, Sessions said.
This treatment was not given to defendants who retained other attorneys or were unrepresented, the lawsuit says.
Considering the alleged scheme operated in Washington County for years, members of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, elected officials and other county employees should’ve been aware of the scheme. But they didn’t take action to investigate, stop or punish the scheme, Sessions said in the lawsuit.
Washington County officials also failed to train Cochran and Howard in a manner that would’ve avoided the scheme, according to Sessions.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM.
