Federal Judge Harold Murphy sentenced former Murray County Magistrate Bryant Cochran to five years in federal prison on Wednesday for framing a woman, Angela Garmley, and having her wrongfully arrested after she refused to have sex with him.
Cochran will have three years of supervised release, and must perform 100 hours of community service.
The victim had previously come before Cochran in court to resolve a separate case of assault, but prosecutors said he leveraged his influence to try and force the victim to have sex with him in exchange for a favorable ruling, harassing her periodically with inappropriate comments and messages.
The victim did not accept his advances and instead sought recourse for the injustice.
Then in an attempt to retaliate against the victim, prosecutors said Cochran conspired with sheriff department employees to place meth underneath her car, subsequently resulting in her arrest. When the planted drugs were “found” by the officers who stopped her, she was detained, taken to jail, strip-searched, and forced to spend the night in custody.
Jeff Davis, a federal prosecutor, said that the defendant explicitly told the victim that he wanted a mistress and that, although she did not acquiesce, she felt at times that having sex with the defendant was the only way she could get justice in her case. He further said that the defendant called at least eight officers to try to have her arrested.
The victim also made a statement and said, “Judge Cochran, knowing that I had issues with meth, for revenge or to damage my credibility, or both, had meth planted on my car, had me stopped and arrested, taken from the car in front of my 6-year-old daughter, Nikki Jo, and I was sent to jail.”
She also said that since the Cochran was found guilty, her car has been vandalized on three separate occasions and that she is now afraid of going out because she doesn’t know what could happen next.
After hearing from both counsels, Judge Murphy passed sentence saying that this was clearly a case of absolute corruption in which a judicial officer abused his position, eroding the confidence of the public in the judiciary.
Judge Murphy said, “When people walk into a courtroom, no matter how modest or humble, they walk in for fairness and justice. When a judge violates the public trust, it’s not a minor offense.”
He also said that the major factor that distinguishes the United States from every other nation in the world is an honest judiciary. In his words, "the public now needs confidence that someone is going to be punished for misusing their position so terribly."
In a statement after sentencing, an attorney for the victim said that she now feels she has gotten justice, but that the case is not a movie, but reality. He also repeatedly said that the victim has fully served her sentence to house arrest on a previous drug charge and that she has now beaten her addiction.
Page Pate, an attorney for the defense, also said that there will be an appeal and he would like to get a new trial in the next year.
Prosecutors said Cochran was sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating the false arrest of a woman who had been sexually propositioned by Cochran, for tampering with a witness, for sexually assaulting a county employee, and for illegally searching a county employee’s personal cell phone.
“Cochran completely abused the trust given to him by the good citizens of Murray County,” said Acting United States Attorney John A. Horn. “Cochran used the power of the bench to victimize a citizen seeking justice and to exploit his staff. There is no greater breakdown in the justice system than when the judge himself violates other citizens’ rights to simply advantage himself.”
“This sentencing concludes a lengthy investigation that not only ended the career of former Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge Cochran, but also the careers of two Murray County law enforcement officers,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “While the criminal actions of these individuals are disheartening, in the end, truth and justice prevailed.”
“Being in a position to uphold and enforce the law does not mean you are above the law,” said Vernon Keenan, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “The GBI will continue to work with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office to investigate and hold accountable those who are involved in corruption, regardless of their position.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: From January 1, 2004, to August 15, 2012, Bryant Cochran served as the Chief Magistrate Judge in Murray County.
He said in that position, on April 9, 2012, Cochran met with a female citizen regarding a routine legal matter. During the meeting, Cochran made inappropriate sexual advances towards the citizen, including an offer to trade sex for a favorable legal ruling. By mid-July 2012, the allegations of Cochran’s sexual misconduct towards the citizen had become public and gained significant media coverage. In response, Cochran called at least six local and state police officers providing them with a so-called “tip” – that the citizen carried drugs in her vehicle. Cochran also encouraged several of the police officers to stop the citizen because pulling her over would assist Cochran and would dissipate the heat caused by her complaint.
He said in a further effort to discredit the citizen, Cochran conspired with Clifford J. Joyce (who was Cochran’s tenant) to have the citizen framed for drug possession. Specifically, on or about August 12, 2012, Joyce planted a metal tin containing five packets of methamphetamine under the fender of the citizen’s car.
The prosecutor said two days later, on August 14, 2012, Murray County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Joshua Greeson (who has since been convicted of witness tampering) conducted a traffic stop on a car occupied by the citizen. During the traffic stop, several officers and a police drug dog searched the car for approximately ten minutes – but did not find any drugs. Thereafter, Captain Michael Henderson, who is Cochran’s cousin and who has also been convicted of witness tampering, had an approximately two-minute telephone conversation with Cochran. Following that call, Henderson told an officer at the scene that according to his information; the citizen hid her drugs in a magnetic box under the left, rear tire well. Upon receiving that information, Greeson found the metal box magnetically attached to the car in that precise location. Inside the box, Greeson recovered five small packets containing methamphetamine. Greeson then told the citizen that he had recovered drugs from her car. At that point, the citizen stated that she had been set up by Judge Cochran or Joyce. Despite this, Greeson arrested the citizen and transported her to jail.
On August 15, 2012, the day after the arrest, Cochran resigned his position as Murray County’s Chief Magistrate Judge. On August 22, 2012, Joyce admitted to law enforcement officers that he planted drugs – after which the local District Attorney dismissed the charges against the woman. Finally, in an apparent effort to cover up the framing of the woman, Cochran tried to persuade a witness to provide false information to law enforcement officers.
The prosecutor said as the Chief Magistrate Judge, Cochran also sexually assaulted a Murray County court employee and unlawfully searched the personal cellular telephone of another Murray County employee.
On May 13, 2014, a federal grand jury indicted Cochran, 45, of Chatsworth, or: (1) conspiracy against rights; (2) deprivation of rights under color of law, (3) conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and (4) tampering with a witness. The trial of Cochran began on December 2, 2014, and on December 11, 2014, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts (after one day of deliberations).
Prosecutors said the se also resulted in the following convictions:
· On December 13, 2013, Clifford J. Joyce, of Murray County, Ga., was sentenced to one year, six months in prison for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance.
· On October 30, 2013, Michael Henderson, of Murray County, Ga., was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for tampering with a witness.
On September 25, 2013, Joshua Greeson, of Murray County, Ga., was sentenced to 10 months in prison for tampering with a witness.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and William L. McKinnon, Jr. prosecuted the case.
Here is the full statement by Angela Garmley:
Your Honor Judge Murphy,
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to the court.
I would also like to thank the GBI and FBI for all of their hard
work bringing this case forward, revealing the conspiracy that the
former Judge Bryant Cochran set in motion. And I would also like
to thank the federal prosecutors in this case, Jeff Davis and Bill
McKinnon, for their determination in seeking justice. I know that I
was not always an easy witness for them.
Your honor, Judge Cochran tried to take advantage of me on
two different occasions. In the first, I would have had to perform
sexual favors to get justice in his court. For a couple of days I
actually thought this was the only way I would get the people who
assaulted me brought to justice. When I ended up not complying
with his requests, he treated me rudely in court, and the cases of
the three people who assaulted me vanished soon after their arrests.
Secondly, after I went public with Judge Cochran’s sexual
demands, the JQC was called in to investigate. Judge Cochran,
knowing that I had issues with meth, for revenge or to damage my
credibility, or both, had meth planted on my car, had me stopped
and arrested - taken from the car in front of and from my 6-year-
old daughter Nikki Jo - and I was taken to jail. My daughter was
terrified and heartbroken. Later, my mug shot was all over the
news.
Victim Impact Statement of Angela Garmley - 07/08/2015 Page 1
Your honor, Mr. Cochran caused me great emotional pain by
violating my civil rights in having the drug planted on my car and
then having me falsely arrested. From that moment my life would
never be the same, nor would that of my children. We find it hard
to trust anyone, especially the law. This drove me even deeper into
my meth habit and bad associations and I was arrested again, but
this time I deserved it, last July. That arrest was finally a wake-up
call for me. I want the Court to know that I have completed the
house arrest portion of my sentence for that offense and have been
in counseling and that I am drug free, and have taken on greater
responsibilities in my career.
These things that were caused by Bryant Cochran, however,
have hurt my family and me, emotionally and financially. Even
since he was found guilty, my car has been vandalized on three
different occasions that I have reported. I am in fear of going
everywhere because of not knowing what could happen next. The
embarrassment and the emotional impact, and fear, will be felt for
many years to come.
Your Honor, I urge this court to send the message in the
sentence that in North Georgia corrupt judges will not be tolerated.
If citizens cannot trust judges, then there is no one to trust.
Thank you,
Angela Garmley