Bryant CochranROME, Ga. — One day in August 2012, former Murray County Magistrate Bryant Cochran told a longtime friend to take off his shirt.
The friend, Mike Winkler, said they were standing outside the Chatsworth home of Cochran’s parents. Cochran told Winkler he didn’t know who he could trust anymore, that he needed friends who could help him.
He asked Winkler if he was wearing a wire, was recording their conversation so he could report back to members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Winkler said he wasn’t. He lifted his shirt up and twisted around so Cochran could be sure.
Then, Winkler testified this morning, Cochran asked him to lie to investigators.
Cochran is on trial in U.S. District Court for six criminal charges stemming from his time as Murray County’s magistrate. Among those charges is an allegation that he tried to convince Winkler to obstruct a criminal investigation. That charge carries the harshest potential punishment against Cochran: Up to 20 years in federal prison.