On Monday, a former leader of the Atlanta area and the greater state of Georgia lost his case in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals over a scandalous 2012 incident.
Who is Stanley Watson?
Stanley Watson is a U.S. Navy veteran, former member of the Georgia House of Representatives and joined the DeKalb County Commission in 2010, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In addition to this lawsuit he was trying to appeal, he pled guilty in 2017 to receiving about $3,000 in advances for government trips and using the money for personal purposes. He reportedly repaid the money before he was charged, but was still sentenced to a year in probation and 150 hours of community service.
What did Stanley Watson do?
Watson was at the Tanqueray Lounge in Decatur where he met one of the patrons sitting at the bar: Shenekka Bradsher. He bought her drinks and asked her to go home with him, and she wholeheartedly rejected him, calling him "big" and "greasy."
When Watson couldn't find his wallet, he accused her and her friend Zariah Ali of stealing it. He then got an off-duty police sergeant who was providing security to arrest them. Watson briefly left, but came back, and there was a lot of back and forth between local law enforcement. Watson found his wallet in his car the next day.
Ultimately no one was arrested and the women were allowed to go, but Capitol Beat reported video of the incident shows Watson threatening to call the police chief and threatening the bar with the loss of its food certification.
Stanley Watson sued
The women sued Watson and he lost, being ordered to pay a total of $150,000. This led him to filing for bankruptcy in 2018. The appeals court concluded that the bankruptcy did not err in finding Watson had "willfully and maliciously" caused the women's confinement. He is still liable for $100,000 in damages.
Where is DeKalb County?
DeKalb County covers much of the east metro Atlanta area encompassing Decatur, Stone Mountain Park, Stonecrest, and Brookhaven among other things.
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Former DeKalb County commissioner Stanely Watson loses appeal case
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