After more than three and a half years, misdemeanor charges against Dispatch Managing Editor Zack Plair were dismissed by Lowndes County Court Judge Allison Prichard Kizer Tuesday morning.
Kizer dismissed charges of simple assault by threat and disturbance of a business filed against Plair in 2019 by Columbus Properties Manager Rogena Bonner.
Plair’s case had previously been moved from Columbus Municipal Court to Lowndes County Court.
Tuesday morning County Prosecutor William Starks told the court that the state was unable to meet the “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” standard on either charge and asked for a nolle pros, which essentially means to abandon the prosecution.
Columbus attorney Rod Ray, who represented Plair and was funded by The Dispatch, argued the charges should be dismissed entirely, as the nolle pros leaves the door open for them to be filed again in the future.
Kizer sided with Ray, dismissing the charges entirely.
“The court agrees that the state could not meet its burden,” she said. “And I do think the (nolle pros) means the prosecution will not go forward ‘at this time.’”
Ray told The Dispatch after the hearing that, even if all the facts in Bonner’s claims were true, they did not constitute a crime.
“There are elements to each crime, and you have to prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ray said. “The affidavits in this case were filed by a private citizen, and were based on facts that are not criminal. Even if each and every one of those facts had been brought out in court, they would not have risen to the level of a crime.
“I applaud the prosecutor for standing up and saying that,” Ray added.
Bonner was not present in the courtroom Tuesday and could not be reached for comment by press time.
“This entire episode was a farce meant to discredit a member of the press who was investigating wrongdoing in Columbus city government,” Dispatch Publisher Peter Imes said. “Zack was wrongly accused and arrested by city officials while at the same time one of those officials was blocking the legal duplication of public records. Multiple city officials across two administrations had the chance to defuse this situation and refused. These dismissed charges validate what we’ve known from the beginning: that there is zero evidence to support the claims against Zack.”
The incident
On April 9, 2019, Plair had an appointment with Bonner to review Trotter Convention Center rental records, which he had filed an Open Records Request in order to review. The documents revealed that a city councilman had received a sweetheart deal at the city-owned convention center. When Plair tried to take photographs of the public documents — an act deemed legal by the state Ethics Commission — Bonner told him he couldn’t take pictures.
Plair responded that he could take photos, as they were public documents, and Bonner called security and said she would call police. She alleged that Plair stood up and “raised his voice,” telling her to call then-Chief Fred Shelton, according to a CPD incident report, and that he refused to leave the premises.
Plair left Bonner’s office but remained in the building until police arrived.
Ten days later Columbus Police Department officers arrested Plair in the Dispatch newsroom and led him out of the building in handcuffs.
“These now dismissed charges have been a part of my life for the last three years and eight months,” Plair said Tuesday afternoon. “Throughout this difficult process, I’ve appreciated the unwavering support of my family and The Dispatch, along with the many well-wishes I’ve received from friends and readers. I’m certainly glad to have these accusations behind me.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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