A jury finds Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill not guilty of all charges in the public corruption trial.
Hill was charged with 27 counts including racketeering, theft by taking, making false statements, and violation of oath of office.
He was accused of using county credit cards and vehicles for personal use, including taking several trips to out-of-state gambling resorts with two women, one of which was a county employee.
The mostly male, mostly black, jury told the judge just after 1 p.m. Thursday that they had reached a unanimous verdict on all but five counts. Two of those deal with theft by taking, two of making false statements, and one count of violating his of oath of office.
The judge told jurors to take a lunch break and then come back and begin deliberating again on the five remaining counts.
The jury's only other question came Wednesday, the day it got the case, asking about Hill's vacation time. The judge told jurors they would have to rely on the evidence presented during the trial.
By the end of the day Thursday, jurors said they could not reach a verdict on two of the counts to which the prosecution decided to dismiss.
A guilty verdict on any one of the 27 charges would have cost Hill his job in law enforcement.
Hill hugged his defense team after the verdict was read. He chose not to speak to reporters afterwards, leaving that up to his attorneys.
"He was extremely anxious about getting back to work," says Drew Findley. "His exact words up there were 'it's time to fight crime'."
Findley says Hill will, however, take some time first to rest before resuming his duties as sheriff.
District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson would not comment on the verdict, but did thank jurors for their service.
Jury foreman Markeith Crabb told WSB's Sandra Parrish evidence was lacking in the case.
"The evidence wasn't there, at all," he says. "It was there, but there was some missing and that's how we came up with our decision."
Crabb believes the case was politically motivated, something Hill's attorneys harped on during the trial.
"People questioned the timing of this; people questioned the motives of people involved," says attorney Steven Frey.