A Milledgeville man was recently in Jones County Superior Court facing charges for four cases, including witness intimidation and forgery.
Edward Jerome Broadus Jr. entered guilty pleas to two of the cases July 17, and the other two were dismissed as part of plea negotiations with the state.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore, and Broadus was represented by public defender Tom O’Donnell.
Broadus was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Brenda Trammell to five years for the offense of influencing a witness and 10 years for the charge of forgery in the first degree. The sentences are to run concurrently for a total of 10 years with the first year served in confinement, and the remainder of the sentence to be served on probation. He received credit for time served from April 2 to July 17.
The charges that were dismissed were criminal attempt to commit a misdemeanor and two traffic offenses.
Fiore said the forgery charge was due to a signature forged on a quit claim deed.
Broadus was indicted April 8 for the witness intimidation charges that were the result of a theft case.
A report of the incident leading to the arrests by Gray Police Officer Dylan Joiner stated he met the complainant at the Gray Police Department March 18. The business owner said he had been receiving calls and texts from Broadus, who is a former employee. He said Broadus offered him $1,000 to drop a pending theft case against him.
The complainant said Broadus had also been contacting a current employee offering more money. Joiner said he verified the information received and secured warrants for the arrest of Broadus.
The report about the underlying case was also by Joiner. The officer said he was dispatched to a local auto parts store Feb. 18, in reference to an attempted theft. He was told by the complainant that Broadus had ordered items from the store online, using the business account of his former employer, and then tried to pick the items up.
Broadus was told by the store clerk that the owner had to be contacted to verify the purchase was for the business. Joiner said during a conversation with the clerk, it was discovered that Broadus used the account Feb. 14 for other car parts, and the business owner said those parts were not for any autos on his lot.
That transaction was later verified by the clerk that handled the sale, and a warrant was secured for Broadus’ arrest. He was arrested Feb. 20.