No comment from Kelley, Newsome on calls for their resignation
Calls for the resignation of State Rep. Trey Kelley and Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome have so far gone unanswered by both men after news came out about their involvement in the hit and run death last September of Eric Keais.
The Standard Journal reached out to both Kelley and Newsome asking if they had made any decisions over calls for their resignation and received no reply back from either in recent days.
Local and Atlanta media have reported on the involvement of Kelley and Newsome in a hit-and-run wreck that took the life of Keais on the night of Sept. 11, 2019 when he was struck while riding his bicycle on North Main Street in front of the Dollar General Market in Cedartown by Ralph “Ryan” Dover III.
Coroner’s reports have listed Keais’ cause of death as a homicide, and Georgia State Patrol handed over their findings to District Attorney Jack Browning. He said in a previous statement that his office has the case under review and plans to present it to a grand jury.
Kelley and Newsome became involved after reports stated that Kelley received a call from Dover minutes after he was alleged to have struck Keais on the bicycle, and Kelley himself stated he went down to the scene to determine what happened and called Newsome for assistance
personally rather than call 911. Newsome then called an officer on the phone to check the area around Dollar General Market instead of requesting help over the radio or via 911.
Keais was discovered more than an hour after he was hit, and later died at Floyd Polk Medical Center from the injuries he sustained from the impact with Dover’s vehicle.
News reports have listed several State House members, State Sen. Jen Jordan, and activists from both sides of the aisle calling for Kelley’s resignation.
Among those is Georgia Ethics Watchdogs’ letters sent to Kelley, Newsome and to the U.S. Attorney’s Office calling for a federal investigation into a “potential cover up” of a crime. The nonpartisan group seeks an investigation specifically into the aftermath of the wreck.
William Perry, Georgia Ethics Watchdog Founder, said in a press release about his delivery of letters to the U.S. Attorney requesting an investigation that his organization only seeks to uncover truth over what happened.
”I believe an investigation by the US Attorney would exonerate the innocent and hold accountable the guilty,” Perry said in the statement.
Kelley said in January as the second half of his latest term in office was getting underway that he planned to run to retain his seat in 2020.
A recent campaign finance filing shows that Kelley will have $114,964.19 on hand — at least as of when the report to the state’s Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
The report stated that Kelley for House took in some $125,130 in contributions from July 2019 through the beginning of the year, and spent $111,368.18 during that time. Those included contributions from healthcare PACs, attorneys, and companies like Comcast, General Motors, Georgia Power, Publix, Quicken Loans, Truist and Verizon. Spending varied from contributions to local organizations, several election campaigns across the state, hotel and travel, housing, and more.
news reports have listed several state house members, state sen. Jen Jordan, and activists from both sides of the aisle calling for kelley’s resignation.