Varnell agrees to settlement for arrest of Cohutta town attorney

Apr. 25—The Varnell City Council unanimously voted in a called meeting Monday to approve a settlement reached through mediation for the arrest of Cohutta Town Attorney Todd Johnson last year. Varnell Mayor Tom Dickson said the city will pay $100,000 to Johnson and its insurance company will pay $250,000.

Dickson said city officials are relieved to put the matter behind them. Johnson had sent a letter of his intent to file a lawsuit.

In a statement, Johnson said, "Everyone makes mistakes."

"This Varnell council has stepped up to the plate to resolve Varnell's mistake, and the members should be given credit for doing so," he said. "I believe God is working through all this, from my arrest, to the dismissal of my charges and finally in this resolution approved by the Varnell council. I am thankful for the guidance of my lawyers, Andrew Powell, Leslie Waycaster and Brian Spears. I look forward to continuing my service to the citizens of Cohutta."

On Oct. 4 of last year, then-Varnell Police Department lieutenant Winston Swilley obtained an arrest warrant in Whitfield County Magistrate Court for Johnson for criminal attempt to commit bribery and criminal attempt to commit extortion, citing an email Johnson had sent to then-Varnell solicitor Bryan Rayburn.

Swilley was assigned the case by Police Chief Kyle Moreno who said in an incident report that Johnson was "attempting to bypass due process and reward Varnell if his request is fulfilled."

The affidavit Swilley submitted in support of the warrant did not say that Johnson was the Cohutta town attorney or that he was acting as a private attorney representing a driver ticketed by a former Varnell police officer when he sent the email. Magistrate Judge Tom Phillips later said Swilley "absolutely" should have included that information.

In the affidavit, Swilley wrote, "Todd Johnson did willfully and with intent take a substantial step to commit bribery when he sent an email to Brain (sic) Rayburn (Varnell city prosecutor) offering a 'small donation' (money or favors) to have two Varnell citations dismissed."

Swilley did not consult with Dickson, then-district attorney Bert Poston, Rayburn or Varnell City Attorney Terry Miller before obtaining the warrant. Poston and Rayburn, who later resigned as solicitor, said they believed Johnson was simply seeking a plea bargain for his client and they would have told Swilley that if he had spoken to them.

The criminal charges were dismissed about three weeks later by the Conasauga Judicial Circuit through the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia. In the administrative dismissal of the charges, the judicial circuit (Whitfield and Murray counties) representatives said Johnson had not committed bribery or extortion but had been seeking a plea bargain for his client.

"The entire situation (criminal investigation, warrant being issued, subsequent arrest, etc.) with Todd could have and should have been handled differently," Rayburn said afterward. "Sadly, I think the entire situation could have been avoided with one phone call to either me, Bert or Terry. For whatever reason, that phone call was never made."

Waycaster said he appreciates city officials' "actions in getting this matter quickly resolved. We are hopeful that steps will be taken to keep something like this from happening in the future."

"Varnell Chief Kyle Moreno and Lt. Winston Swilley falsely accused attorney Todd Johnson with the felonies of attempted bribery and extortion," said Spears.

Spears said Johnson was arrested only because "the true facts" were misrepresented and that attempts to damage Johnson's legal career failed.

"I have handled police misconduct cases throughout Georgia for 45 years," said Spears. "I have never seen a more blatant abuse of police power. The city of Varnell did the right thing to correct this wrong. The settlement of Mr. Johnson's case is a welcome conclusion to this entire episode."

Dickson said there has been "no formal change in policies but there has been an increased supervision (of the police department) since that incident."

He said that has involved greater supervision "by the mayor over the operation of the police department with the chief."