A mistrial was declared Thursday in the trial of former Arcade Mayor Joe Sikes after a jury deliberated for approximately 10 hours. Sikes was on trial on charges that he made terroristic threats against Arcade officials in 2005.
After the hearing, prosecutor Ashley Wright of Augusta said she would retry the case. Presiding Judge John Ott of the Alcovy Judicial District mentioned March 23 as a possible trial week.
JOE SIKES
Mistrial declared in Sikes trial; case to be retried March 23
Sikes faces charges related to a now-closed oil company he owned in the town and to allegations he made terroristic threats against Arcade city officials when they revoked his business license after an explosion at the facility killed a worker.
The hearing this week in Jackson County Superior Court brought together some of Jackson County’s most controversial figures from the past few years.
Among those testifying in the matter were former Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tim Madison, who is currently in jail after being convicted of theft charges, and former Arcade police chief Dennis Bell, who was forced out of his position by city leaders last year.
In a partial victory for Sikes early in the week, Judge John Ott issued a directed verdict of “not guilty” on Tuesday on six of the 12 charges facing Sikes. Sikes was found not guilty on three counts of transporting hazardous waste without the proper permit and not guilty on three counts of transporting hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility.
The charges that received the most focus were allegations that Sikes made threats against Arcade officials after the city council revoked his business license in 2005. Several Arcade officials testified early in the week that Sikes' comments, which were taped by Bell at Madison's direction, had them scared for their lives.
Among those who were character witnesses for Sikes was Jackson County Sheriff Stan Evans.
The hearing this week in Jackson County Superior Court brought together some of Jackson County’s most controversial figures from the past few years.
Among those testifying in the matter were former Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tim Madison, who is currently in jail after being convicted of theft charges, and former Arcade police chief Dennis Bell, who was forced out of his position by city leaders last year.
In a partial victory for Sikes early in the week, Judge John Ott issued a directed verdict of “not guilty” on Tuesday on six of the 12 charges facing Sikes. Sikes was found not guilty on three counts of transporting hazardous waste without the proper permit and not guilty on three counts of transporting hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility.
The charges that received the most focus were allegations that Sikes made threats against Arcade officials after the city council revoked his business license in 2005. Several Arcade officials testified early in the week that Sikes' comments, which were taped by Bell at Madison's direction, had them scared for their lives.
Among those who were character witnesses for Sikes was Jackson County Sheriff Stan Evans.
Defined tags for this entry: crime
How, in your recent coverage of the race for the DA's office, did you fail to mention the fact that THE HUSBAND of one of the candidates was facing criminal charges?
Could that have had the slightest bit of relevance to the election? Perhaps? Just maybe?
Either you just fell down on the job or were omitting relevant information for your ends. I'll hope it's the former.
Thank goodness you're a former officer, hopefully you mean you are no longer allowed to carry a gun and wear a badge. Your grammar is so terrible that I bet a small child could write better than you. I bet you are one of those officers that bounced around every police department in Jackson County and maybe even made a pit stop in Pendergrass. I bet your testimony was outstanding.
Grow up and calm down.
The man that was killed at Joe's oil service it was an horrific accident. First of all he should never have been lighting a cig on top of the oil truck that blown up. He had been gotten on to several times regarding smoking around the fumes of the oil trucks. I am most possitive that this will be thrown out of court!!!!
AS IT SHOULD......GOOD LUCK JOE!!.. WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU!!
Even the former Chief Bell was dismissed under a cloud of investigation. How factual is his tail? Things seem to be running a bit smoother since he left our fair city. His call to Mr. Sikes could be considered entrapment, if I know anything about the law. Of course this man was upset at the time with his business in shambles and his employee dead. I say things I regret later when I'm upset. Do any of you out there?
During Mr. Sikes' campaign for mayor he came by our home, knowing we were in opposition to everything he was trying to accomplish politically. He was polite. He was kind. He explained his position concerning the landfill and never indicated he could be violent or threatening. His attorney described him as a big teddy bear and I have to say that was my impression of Mr. Sikes. I have no idea if he is guilty of the charges but I saw nothing in Mr. Sikes to put fear into me when my family was opposing him politically.
He seems like a nice guy to me. I might not vote for him but he's welcome in my home anytime.
The fact that you have a sitting Sheriff testifying as a character witness for the defendant, and discrediting a former local police chief as lacking credibility doesn't justify failing to prosecute Sikes for his crimes: that, along with the Sheriff's failure to recuse himself for campaigning for Donna Sikes simply means that Jackson County politics are deeply suspect.
Equally troubling is why this county organ chooses to persecute Jefferson police officers for getting a little rowdy off-duty, while at the same time advocating for letting someone like Sikes go free just because he's such a good ol' boy.
It's very reassuring to me that this case is being pursued from outside the local orbit.
Stan Evans cleaned this county up when he took over. His reputation is beyond reproach. Read a little history about Jackson County.
The former police chief resigned under pressure. You would put his word higher than Stan Evans? The same Stan Evans that single handedly talked a kid out of blowing himself up at the JCCHS at great risk to his own safety? Not only did he care about enforcing the law, he saved this young man's life. I'm sure there are a thousand stories about Stan Evans like this. I just don't like to read bad things about a very good person.
Remember Tony, it takes a unanimous jury to convict and that hasn't happened yet. Until it does Mr. Sikes is innocent.
And Tony, as a long-time critic of local police agencies (you once wrote us about their "goon squads"), and as a critic of Arcade's old speed trap, I'm shocked — SHOCKED — that you of all people would put so much credibility into the APD's arrest of Joe Sikes as having been a serious threat to the public order in Arcade. Whatever one may think of Mr. Sikes (and as I recall, you don't think much of him), you have to admit that this prosecution is more about political payback than any serious threat to Arcade's city fathers.
If explosions and flying bodies in my neighborhood don't constitute "a serious threat to public order," followed by threats (of any kind) when city officials correctly step in to mitigate any further carnage, then I don't know what does.
You seem to think that my specific criticisms of certain law enforcement agencies translate into a blanket contempt, but they don't. I think that common sense needs to prevail in all scenarios, whether it be Glenn's masked officers playing ninja with guns & grenades in order to get federal 9/11 grants, or Bell's speed trap. Mouthing off is something all of us do when the occasion arises, but threatening to wipe out a city council goes way beyond mouthing off.
You've now aroused the Bill O'Reilly in me, and he's calling you out on your spin, bub. Sikes is no Andy Griffith: his careless, gruff way of doing business as Mayor gave no one any reason to presume he was bluffing about political payback of his own. But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that he was joking. "Everybody knows ol' Joe, if you look at him the wrong way ol' Joe'll threaten to kill ya, but pay him no nevermind--he don't mean nothing by it. That's just his way." That works great until, who knew?, one day he actually does it. It's happened several times in Jefferson alone with so-called "harmless drunks."
Then there's also this: are we supposed to check with Stan Evans any time someone threatens to kill us, to see if we should be concerned or not? Because if they're a friend of his, I suppose we now know better than to call the Sheriff's Dept.
Let's let the law do its job in punishing belligerent behavior. And at the very least, let's have the local media differentiate between harmless venting by public servants, and belligerent bullying that crosses over the line of legality by the likes of Sikes.
We all understand that you don't like Sikes and didn't want his business near where you live, but that doesn't mean he should be convicted of a crime for mouthing off, which was the subject of the column you initially commented about.