Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams has dismissed the warrant against an Augusta public defender accused of surreptitiously giving toilet paper to an inmate.
Rodrequez Burnett was accused of giving contraband to an inmate in a March 29 incident. The toilet paper wrapper could be used to roll cigarettes or other substances into smoking devices, authorities said.
The DA determined that Burnett took the toilet paper from an unlocked supply closet at the request of a client he was representing. The client removed the wrapper and took it to other inmates.
William said the offense was a misdemeanor his office is not concerned about prosecuting.
“The district attorney does not prosecute stand-alone misdemeanors unless community safety so demands,” a statement said. “Your district attorney’s office is focused on serious violent felonies. While a misdemeanor could be pursued for handing an inmate toilet paper, our limited resources are best devoted to the murders, sexual assaults, and senseless violence that our community is fed up with.”
The dismissal marks the end of the case against Burnett, Wiliams said.
Burnett, 30, a graduate of the John Marshall law school in Atlanta, had represented approximately 200 indigent clients for the Augusta Circuit Public Defender’s office.
