Ward Found Guilty on DUI Charge

Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Parks White is sounding off about a recent ruling by Superior Court Judge Chris Phelps.

In a press release issued this week, White said the sentence handed down by Phelps to 40-year-old Derek Marquis Ward of Stockbridge was too light. 

Ward was found guilty on Tuesday by a jury of DUI drugs and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

He was arrested during an inspection checkpoint at a truck weigh station.

In his press release Tuesday, White said multiple law enforcement agencies had worked on the case and Assistant DA Michael Coveney called expert witnesses from the GBI during the trial. 

After being found guilty, Judge Phelps sentenced Ward to no jail time and a $1,000 fine. 

White said such a light sentence hinders the D.A.’s office from negotiating pleas in DUI cases to avoid trials because there is no incentive to do so, and he said it also means the cost to the county and the State is a waste of time and money.

“The costs of the jury trial to the State included the time spent by various members of the Georgia State Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s office investigating the case, the time taken by the forensic toxicologist to test the blood of the accused, as well as the time required for the witnesses to testify,” said White.

Additionally, he said each witness was paid to testify and each juror missed two days of work and was paid a juror fee. 

According to the D.A., there are currently 84 DUI cases pending in Franklin County Superior Court, all of them transferred from Probate Court.