Chatham County grand jury indicts two former Savannah officers for perjury, violation of oath
A Chatham County grand jury on Wednesday indicted two former Savannah Police Department officers on multiple counts of perjury and violating their oaths of public office. These are the first charges brought by Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones against local law enforcement.
Former detective Ashley Wood was indicted on four counts perjury and four counts of violating her oath of office. Former corporal Darryl Repress was indicted on one count of perjury, three counts of violating his oath of public office, and two counts of making a false statement.
"Just as no officer, no prosecutor is perfect, and we are all subject to make mistakes and misjudgments in the performance of our duties, no officer is above the law," said Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones during a press conference Thursday.
Wood was fired from SPD in July 2023 for falsifying information, including security footage and text messages, in multiple search warrant applications tied to a 2021 murder case. The indictment accuses Wood of knowingly making false statements relevant to probable cause in obtaining search warrants for multiple, separate crimes.
On Sept. 28, 2023, SPD terminated Repress after an internal affairs investigation found that he had a relationship with a convicted felon, according to documents obtained via open records request by the Savannah Morning News. An internal affairs investigation, launched in August 2023, stemmed from allegations that Repress was having a relationship with a woman, Phatemia Bigham, whom he also was using as a confidential informant.
When questioned about this relationship, according to the indictment, he lied to his supervisors and internal affairs investigators. The indictment also alleges that Repress knowingly purchased stolen goods from Bigham and two others.
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During her press conference, Jones also shed light on the ripple effect of having criminal indictments of former law enforcement officers who worked crimes being prosecuted by the DA's office.
Jones said her office has identified "a multitude" of crimes, including murders and shootings, that cannot currently be prosecuted due to the involvements of Wood and Repress when they were employed as police officers.
"What that means is that my office and I have gone to great lengths to review previous cases that these individuals were involved in, and pending cases they are involved in," Jones said.
The office will release in coming days which cases can and cannot be prosecuted as a result of that review, Jones said. Jones and others within her office reviewed every case Repress and Wood were involved in, and the focus is to prioritize pending cases, Jones said.
In the case of Wood, the City of Savannah Civil Service Board demoted her to a “lower civilian position within the City of Savannah,” according to previous reporting by the Savannah Morning News. A City of Savannah spokesperson Josh Peacock confirmed as of Thursday afternoon Wood was still an active employee with the City of Savannah.
SPD spokesperson Neil Penttila responded to a request for comment saying the department "does not have anything to add to the story at this time."
Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham county grand jury indicts two former Savannah officers for perjury
