DA Abrams clarifies events on Georgia man's extradition hearing
In an email to The Reporter, Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said a Tuesday story about an extradition review hearing for a Georgia man appeared to be “misleading.”
The newspaper report indicated that official court records showed Solano County Superior Court Judge Janice M. Williams on Tuesday dismissed the case against James Coley III, 38, who was arrested after a traffic stop and jailed last month by Fairfield police because he was wanted on more than a dozen outof-state felony warrants.
As reported, online court records did not indicate why Williams dismissed the case, which was scheduled for early Tuesday in Department 25 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
The Reporter arrived for the hearing proceeding only to find the courtroom door locked and signs that read “Hearing” and “Closed.”
It was unclear why the judge dismissed the case, as no explanation was cited in Tuesday's record of the hearing proceedings.
In the email, however, Abrams said the reason was, Coley “had already been picked up to be transported to Georgia regarding his felony warrants.”
In a follow-up email, she said her office confirmed with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office in Georgia that Coley was booked there on Jan. 11.
However, the DA's case documents did not clearly indicate Coley was extradited to Georgia earlier this month, only that the court, on Dec. 14, received an extradition waiver, a bench warrant from DeKalb County, and a criminal complaint.
Still, Williams' dismissal of the case on Tuesday morning, which, apparently did not require Coley's presence, was “proper procedure,” Abrams added in the email.
Deputy Public Defender Matthew represented Coley. Deputy District Attorney Douglas A. Pharr led the prosecution during the hearing, according to official court records.
As previously reported, court records show a Fairfield police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop at approximately 2:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in the 2200 block of North Texas Street. The driver, later identified as Coley, failed to pull over, however, and a vehicle pursuit ensued.
“The vehicle fled north on North Texas Street to Alaska Avenue, before the driver exited the car and fled on foot across Air Base Parkway,” according to a press statement issued by the Fairfield Police Department. Officers eventually caught up to him and placed him in custody.
Once detained, Coley allegedly provided false identification to the officer.
Officials said Coley had several felony warrants out of Georgia, which included four armed robberies, four violations of the Georgia “Street Gang Terrorism Act” and four carjacking warrants.