After listening to attorneys and witnesses for about two hours Monday afternoon concerning Bulloch County Commissioner Timmy Rushing's request to take out a good behavior bond against Bulloch County Republican Party chairman and Bulloch Action Coalition activist Lawton Sack, Judge James M. "Jimmy" Griner, Screven County's chief magistrate, delivered his ruling in less than one minute.

"Well, I think I can end this pretty quick. …, Griner said. "I don't see any criminal contact coming up whatsoever that would warrant a bond of good behavior. Now, Mr. Sack, I think you may have made a bad decision in walking up the ramp and maybe getting so close to him, and in the future I would advise not to, but the deputies are there every meeting — am I correct? — and if there's any problems at the meeting, that's what they're there for. I don't think the bond for good behavior is warranted at all, and we're not going to issue one."

Sack was never charged with any crime, but a good behavior bond, or "peace warrant," could have required him to keep his distance from Rushing.

But about as close as the testimony came to anybody saying that someone had made threats was Rushing testifying that he heard — after a brief encounter between them during a gap time in the Feb. 6 Board of Commissioners meeting — that Sack told other people Rushing had threatened him. However, the good behavior bond that Rushing sought would have required a finding that Sack, not Rushing, had somehow threatened "the safety of one or more persons in the county or the peace or property of same."

Only Rushing testified that Sack touched him. Two other commissioners testified that they didn't see this but only saw Sack lean over Rushing and point at a piece of paper, a letter, he was holding. 

Griner came to the Bulloch County Magistrate Court building in Statesboro to hear the case after Bulloch Magistrate Judge Lynn Sapp, who had signed the peace warrant notice on March 4, and Bulloch County Chief Magistrate Karen Riggs Jones were recused from hearing the case involving other Bulloch officials.

At one point during the hearing, Sack's attorney, Tom Withers of Savannah, asked Rushing whether it was correct he had waited until March 4 to file the warrant application, which concerned an incident during the Feb. 6 commissioners' meeting. Rushing said he didn't know the exact date, and Withers asked Griner to take "judicial notice" of the filing date. However, Rushing's attorney, George Rountree of Statesboro, told the court that March 4 was not when Rushing applied for the warrant but instead had been when the hearing date was set after a delay caused by the judges' recusal until Griner could be appointed. The court clerk said the application had been filed Feb. 20.

Feb. 6 context

Fairly late in the Feb. 6 evening meeting, when the commissioners came to the "consent agenda" portion, Rushing asked to have one item, the proposed appointment of Patrick Woock to the Coastal Area District Development Authority to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of longtime CADDA member Bryan Burke removed to "new business" for further discussion and a separate vote.

During that discussion, Rushing read a letter from Burke recommending Woock for the vacancy and referring to his position at Georgia Southern University. Rushing made the motion to appoint Woock, which was approved 5-1. But Sack was aware that Woock was no longer a Georgia Southern employee, having left his job as business incubation director with the university's Business Innovation Group in October to work for an organization in Savannah.

Sack did not speak during the public comment time that followed in the meeting. But when the commissioners adjourned from open session to hold an "executive session," or closed-door discussion, about personnel matters, Sack walked up the ramp at the side of the  commissioners' dais and approached  Rushing, who sits at the end of the dais,  from the  side. Another citizen, Lisha Nevil, had approached the dais  at the same  time, from the front, to speak to Commissioner Toby Conner, to Rushing's right. 

Rushing testified that he thought a staff member was trying to hand him something when he felt something touching his arm.

"But it's not, it's a man standing right there … right at the end of that wall right there," Rushing said.

In answer to questions from Rountree, Rushing  testified that Sack had "leaned over" him "as far as he could lean over," while Rushing sat in his chair. He said he was startled, and "It's hard for me to make out what he's saying. … I finally made out that he said something to the effect of, 'I'll have you know he hadn't worked at Georgia Southern in four months.'"

Rushing testified that  he knew neither Burke  nor  Woock and had told Sack he  had only read the letter. 

"Chairman Thompson walked up and was telling Mr. Sack, 'You've got  to leave. You've  got  to leave.  We're in executive session.' … And he's not going anywhere, he's  just continuing to hold his position, right where he's at. After that, Mr. Roy told him,  'You've got  to  go.'  He don't move. Mr. Roy goes  back and starts calling for the deputies, trying to get him  to move  on."

Then, Rushing testified, he stood up and  faced Sack.

"I told him,  'Look, I'm not going to  be a county commissioner  from now  on, meaning — now, I understand  he might have took that for  a threat — meaning, if you don't  like the decisions I make, that's  fine, somebody will  make some different ones for you. …  So we get in a heated  discussion, and  I said, 'Don't touch me no more, don't talk to me no more, don't follow me, because I can see where this  is going,'" Rushing  said.

Chairman testifies

When Thompson  was called  to the stand, he  testified to having  heard this. He said  he had gone over to Sack and said, "Lawton, we are in executive  session, you need to leave now."

The commission chairman testified that he called for the deputies, twice, and was going to have Sack "escorted out of there." But then he saw Sack walking down the ramp, and "He left before the deputy got in," Thompson told the court. Deputies had escorted another man out who came into the commission chambers at that time with a camera, said Thompson, who added that this had nothing to do with Sack.

"I believe this is the first time that I've ever called the deputies," Thompson said when Rountree asked how often in his years on the commission he has had to do this. He is in his eighth year as chairman and 20th year on the board.

But when Withers asked him to indicate where Sack had been standing, Thompson placed him across the corner of the low wall of the dais from Rushing.

Conner also testified, saying he had heard only "bits and pieces" of the heated conversation between them.

The judge also listened  to an audio recording from that portion of the meeting. From where the courtroom audience was sitting, some  of what Sack, Rushing and Thompson  said could be heard, along with other voices and noise. Withers and Sack had tried to introduce an enhanced version of the recording, but Rountree objected, and the judge instead heard original recording.

The portion encompassing the encounter between Sack and Rushing lasted 1 minute and 24 seconds.