Judge rules Sammie Sias, ex-commissioner, will not get a new trial

A federal judge this week ruled that former Augusta commissioner Sammie Sias is not entitled to a new trial after his conviction last summer on charges of destroying evidence and lying to a federal investigator.

Chief Judge J. Randall Hall of the Southern District of Georgia ruled that the "Defendant cannot show that the evidence at trial ... was insufficient to sustain a conviction."

More: ‘My work, it spoke for itself’: Commissioner found guilty of obstruction, lying to agent

Watch: 'It did not go my way': Sammie Sias after conviction on all counts

During the trial last summer, FBI agents testified that Sias deleted 7,000 files in minutes after receiving a grand jury subpoena for bank records. The subpoena came as part of an investigation into the spending of tax dollars at the Jamestown Community Center.

Sias served as president of a homeowner's association which received the $150,000 in government funds for the center.

According to the ruling, Sias contended that evidence he has received receipts for spending the tax dollars did not mean that the files he deleted were the receipts. He also argued that an FBI forensic accountant was not labeled an expert witness and contested some of her testimony, as well as the validity of the subpoena itself. He also argued evidence about the tax funds was presented improperly.

Hall was unconvinced.

"The Court finds Defendant has failed to establish any evidentiary error occurred at his trial, much less that these supposed evidentiary errors had a "substantial influence on the outcome" that would warrant a new trial," he wrote.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Ex-commissioner Sammie Sias of Augusta will not get new trial