Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday appointed a three-person review commission to decide if embattled Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams should be suspended.
State Attorney General Chris Carr, Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock and Thomas County Sheriff Tim Watkins have been chosen to determine whether the administration of Williams' duties has been "adversely" affected by a federal grand jury indictment alleging that Williams accepted bribes from five people to make their pending drunken-driving charges go away.
The commission has 14 days to submit a written report to the governor with a recommendation for or against Williams' suspension.
Williams
faces five counts of extortion under the color of official right and one count of transfer of a firearm to a convicted felon, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia, based in Savannah.
The firearm charge alleges that Williams, 55, knowingly provided a firearm to a convicted felon.
The extortion offenses allegedly took place between August 2021 and April 2022, and the firearms offense allegedly took place on or about Jan. 23, 2023, according to authorities.
Williams faces prosecution under the Hobbs Act, a 1946 law passed initially to fight labor racketeering by making it a crime to attempt, commit, or conspire to commit robbery or extortion.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Kemp names panel to weigh Burke sheriff's suspension after indictment
