GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A bail bonding service has retracted a lawsuit against the Gwinnett County sheriff after it sued him for revoking their certificate.
The case was headed to court Monday morning, but Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor has backed down. He still remains the focus of an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“It’s our contention it never should have been revoked in the first place,” attorney Robert Cheeley said.
Cheeley told Channel 2′s Tom Regan that Taylor abused his power when he blocked the longtime bail bond company from doing business at the Gwinnett County jail earlier this year.
He pointed to a 2019 surveillance video and his expectation for bond companies as Taylor ran for office.
“If you don’t support me, I’m not going to let you bond here,” the sheriff is heard saying on the video.
“I think the sheriff stepped in a big ol’ mud puddle when he used those words,” Cheeley said.
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Channel 2′s Tony Thomas spoke to Taylor in May about the allegations. Taylor said he did nothing wrong and that his comments, which were sent to the GBI by the bondsman, were taken out of context.
“Did you retaliate against anybody?” Thomas asked Taylor.
“No. No, I did not,” Taylor said. “He used minimal misinformation and doctored, tampered evidence.”
The lawsuit was dropped after Taylor agreed to reinstate the company’s bond certification for the county jail.
“We reached an amicable solution last night, prior to a hearing this morning,” Cheeley said.
Taylor told Regan that he is not worried about the GBI investigation, saying he expects to be cleared.
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