Even as the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office prepares to argue for a permanent order keeping a group of 31 accused gang members apart, defense attorneys are protesting a move to add two more men to the list without giving them notice.
Prosecutors tried to make Jerry Lee McMath III and Kendale Fuqua show up to Hamilton County Criminal Court on Nov. 29 to include them in their civil nuisance case against the Gangster Disciples and Grape Street Crips in East Lake Courts.
More than a year ago, District Attorney General Neal Pinkston asked the courts to approve a petition that would restrict specific behaviors from the targeted gangs, saying it would give law enforcement another tool to make the neighborhood safer.
Pinkston named 31 men, claimed they were gang members and said they would face a $50 fine or up to 30 days behind bars for associating with each other in the housing project. A trial to determine whether his order becomes permanent was recently rescheduled for March 13.
The prosecutor, however, never included Fuqua or McMath in his September 2016 petition, so it took defense attorneys by surprise when a summons for both men turned up in the public court file on Oct. 30. A summons is a piece of paper that tells a defendant they’re being sued and need to show up in court. A person needs to receive the summons, and in this case, an officer from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office tried to serve the men.