Good Morning Petition Supporters,

On September 13, DeKalb County Magistrate Court revoked James Avery’s probation due to continued violations of sign ordinances and other conditions of his probation. The defendant was sentenced to serve the balance of his probation (362 days) in DeKalb County jail until approximately September 6, 2019. 
 
In addition, the defendant was found competent by mental health professionals at Georgia Regional Hospital to understand the charges against him and participate in his own defense.  DeKalb County provided the defendent two (2) Public Defenders (in spite of not meeting their economic qualifications).  He refused to work with the Public Defenders, was verbally abusive, and even “harassed” them through his blog postings.  Public Defenders requested to be removed from the case.  His family also hired a private attorney, which the defendant refused to accept as counsel. Probation was structured to encourage the defendant to comply with DeKalb County sign code ordinances, participate in drug treatment, and attend anger management.  After the defendant violated the terms of his probations on two occasions, resulting in two 60 day jail terms in 2018, the Judge decided it was of no benefit to return the defendant to the community and ordered he complete the remainder of his probation in jail. 

Once the defendant serves probation in jail (September 6, 2019), he will be released back into the community.  We will continue to communicate with county prosecutors as we get closer to his release date to ensure community concerns of safety and security are addressed appropriately.

Thank you for your continued support.