Savannah mayor responds to DA criticism of police investigations

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – A WTOC survey has found there have been more plea deals this year than the past five years combined. Most of these deals included reduced charges and lighter sentences, including probation in several cases.

In a previous WTOC report, Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones criticized Savannah Police Department investigators for a lack of evidence in a case.

We found that there was perhaps more evidence that could have been obtained early in the investigation, such as triangulation of phone records and that kind of information, and unfortunately that was not done. It’s not the prosecutor’s office’s fault — it has to do with investigators, Jones said.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said he wasn’t interested in an apology from Jones because she had the city’s resources and support. He also said it was a topic he had discussed with her before.

I need her to win because if she loses, we lose as a community, and I think I did everything I could do, he said.

This includes sending a letter in May to resolve any issues with Jones.

Tell him if one of our agents is preventing you from doing what you need to do. Let me know. I’ve never heard from her about it, so your telling me that’s news to me, Johnson said.

Jones blamed the Savannah Police Department for not providing more evidence in the murder case against Derek Gallop Jr. It’s one of the reasons she said her office reached a plea deal for manslaughter which got him out of jail and back home to serve the rest. of his 20-year probation sentence, despite his violent past.

Johnson, who is a former Chatham County police officer and certified police instructor, said the way the system works is for the police department to conduct the preliminary investigation. And from there, take the case to the district attorney’s office who have a team of investigators to help you. She can also ask the police department to do the work she needs.

He said he sent the letter to Jones after hearing about problems with that process.

To make sure they were clear about our willingness to be part of the solution, our willingness to help, and my insistence that the city of Savannah was not going to be part of the problem. And if there was a problem, I was going to go ahead and take care of it, Johnson said. I want to see people prosecuted for pulling the trigger in Savannah.

The recent hiring of a federal prosecutor in the city is something the mayor hopes will add to the local prosecution of violent criminals.

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