Amid a pandemic and jury trials shut down through April 19, 2021, the year began with challenges, but Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said, “we persevered!”

“As Gwinnett County’s first woman and African American District Attorney, it has been an honor to serve the residents of Gwinnett,” Austin-Gatson said. “We began 2021 amid a flurry of changes, successfully weathered those changes and now have our sea legs beneath us.”

One notable accomplishment is spearheading the Rizer program in Juvenile Court. The Rizer program assists juveniles in life skills and dismissal of some cases with long-term follow up. We collaborated with numerous stakeholders in Gwinnett and the region to make where we live safer, a great place to raise families, and to better care for one another. We have built a great staff that is doing wonderful things in serving our community. Gwinnett truly is a vibrant and diverse community and the District Attorney’s Office reflects that diversity. We have launched the RED program which enables 17 – 28-year-old defendants to have a second chance at life and minimize recidivism! We have done outreach in our schools, churches and community organizations and continue to work in youth empowerment. We are reviewing numerous cases through our Conviction Integrity Unit. We remembered victims and their families through the Candlelight Vigil event. We also worked extremely hard during the pandemic to prosecute cases commencing on April 19, 2021.

Finally, Austin-Gatson said everyone is welcome to attend the third town hall, hosted by her office, on Jan. 28 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. It will be held in the auditorium of the Gwinnett Justice Administration Center located at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville.

The following trial cases resulted in convictions in 2021:

2021 CONVICTIONS (Trials Commenced in April)

Note: Convictions obtained by pleas are in excess of 2,935. These pleas include violent cases and serious felonies. Eric Denver Moore/Murder Drug pusher Fentanyl case (first in Georgia) and the Robert Bell triple murder case.