Hamilton County's second-in-command prosecutor resigned from his position Monday without explanation, according to the local district attorney's office.
Lance Pope turned in his two-week notice Monday and his last day will be April 20, said Melydia Clewell, a spokeswoman for Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston.
"Not fired, he resigned," Clewell said in an email Tuesday. "He didn't give a reason for his decision."
Pope, who has worked with Pinkston for the last 10 years, said it's been a great privilege to serve but declined further comment.
"The work we accomplished during that period of time has been the most rewarding of my professional life," Pope said. "I thank General Pinkston for the opportunity to serve as executive assistant and I am truly excited about what the future holds for my family and me."
As executive assistant district attorney General, Pope was essentially second in command from 2014 onward. He handled numerous high-profile cases, helped manage the office and was widely regarded as one of the best trial attorneys.
Clewell said another longtime Hamilton County prosecutor, Cameron Williams, will take his place. A third lawyer, Colin Campbell of the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, will join Chattanooga's team in a couple of months, Clewell said.
According to news accounts, Campbell belonged to that office's gang task force and worked on a few "gang injunctions" in Shelby County. Those actions seek to prohibit suspected gang members from associating with each other in certain neighborhoods by declaring them a public nuisance.
A group of Chattanooga defense attorneys is fighting a temporary gang injunction right now in East Lake Courts against 30 or so men who allegedly belong to the Gangster Disciples and the Grape Street Crips.
That case is scheduled for trial April 17 in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.