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A Camden County commissioner recently asked Kingsland Police Department for “special consideration” in the arrest of an employee from his private construction business, but said he does not feel he acted inappropriately.
Emails obtained by the Tribune & Georgian in an open records request show that District 3 county commissioner Trevor Readdick asked police officials to reduce or dismiss the misdemeanor traffic violations against Manuel Alday Najera so they could avoid court.
KPD did not comply with that request. Najera pleaded not guilty in his March 3 arraignment and a trial has been set for April 5 in Kingsland Municipal Judge Beau Sweatt’s courtroom.
After being interviewed by the newspaper about the arrest and his efforts to intervene on behalf of Najera, Readdick criticized the Kingsland police chief and offered — in exchange for fair coverage — to provide the newspaper with evidence of “operational violations” that he has discovered within the KPD.
Repeat offender
Najera was charged with not having a valid driver’s license after being pulled over in a company truck on Jan. 19 for malfunctioning brake lights. During the traffic stop, he admitted to officers on video that he had been living illegally in the U.S. for about 20 years and that this was his third arrest.
Body cam video also shows that dispatch informed officers of Najera’s 2015 arrest for driving without a license.
Readdick told the Tribune & Georgian that he helped Najera during that 2015 arrest and that Judge Sweatt explained what credentials he needed to drive legally.
“… I was present when Judge Sweatt told Manuel that he would be clear to drive as long as he kept his passport and some other form of a driver's license with him … I'm not asking for any special favors but maybe special consideration being that Manuel and I have dealt with a very similar situation in the past and thought that we were doing the right thing,” Readdick wrote to KPD Chief Robert Jones just hours after the arrest.
The commissioner prompted the KPD for responses to his inquiries twice in the weeks that followed the arrest, arguing the validity of the license charge.
“… It would be much appreciated if I could simply pay a fine in lieu of going to court,” Readdick wrote to Capt. Brian Aligood, patrol commander, on Jan. 26. “Being that Manuel was in a company truck, I feel responsible for this (brake light) charge. I take the safety of our employees as well as other motorists that we encounter very serious. We have since replaced the blown fuse and the trailer lights are now functioning properly.”
He also sent photos of Najera’s identification in an effort to prove his case, but none of those included a Georgia driver’s license. Aligood explained in a Feb. 3 email to Readdick that the department was standing behind their charges.
“I have consulted with both Capt. (Samuel) Lochridge and Chief Jones as well as the Camden County District Attorney's Office and due to the documents provided by Manuel at the time of his stop and statements that he made that he had been illegally here in the United States for 20 years,” wrote Aligood.
“It is our stance that he did violate OCGA 40-5-20 (a) when he drove a motor vehicle upon a highway in this state and by his own statements had been a resident of this state for 30 days and had not obtained a Georgia driver's license before operating a motor vehicle in this state. Further OCGA 40-5-20 (c) (2) states that any noncitizen who is eligible for issuance of a driver's license pursuant to the requirements of this chapter may be issued a driver's license without surrendering any driver's license previously issued to him or her by any foreign jurisdiction,” continued Aligood’s Feb. 3 email.
Aligood then advised Readdick that Najera could present his case in court.
“As stated above, (if) Manuel feels that he was charged incorrectly he is awarded his right to present his evidence to Judge Sweatt, however based on my understanding of code sections 40-5-20 and 40-5-21 as well as others consulted it is our stance that Manuel did violate OCGA 40-5-20,” said Aligood in a Feb. 3 email to Readdick.
The commissioner then replied to Aligood — copying the mayor, city council and city manager on the email — saying he was appalled by how the department was handling the situation.
“While I agree that laws and ordinances should be enforced unilaterally, sometimes special consideration is required. The basis of the consideration that I'm asking for is thoroughly explained below. In addition to what has already been mentioned, as a business owner, it seems excessive to have an employee taken to jail for what started as a faulty brake light on a company vehicle,” Readdick wrote in his Feb. 4 email.
“Not only are we a good neighbor to the welcome center and your police station, but my company makes significant direct impacts to the city each year,” the commissioner wrote. “I realize that it's not the largest source of revenue, but nearly $50,000 paid towards building permits and capital recovery last year is nothing to sneeze at. It may not make a difference to you but I'm taking my relationship with all departments of the city into consideration when planning future business endeavors.
“Finally, as an elected official myself, I would like to be informed about situations like this within my departments,” continued Readdick’s email. “As a courtesy to my fellow elected officials, I'm copying them to this email so that they may be informed. I appreciate your time in this matter and hope that you have a blessed day.”
No knowledge
Readdick identified Najera as his employee in emails to the city and Najera identified himself as an employee of Readdick Construction to police officers during his arrest.
In an interview with the Tribune & Georgian last week, Readdick said Najera was the trim and siding specialist for Readdick Construction and had worked with the company for about seven years.
During this conversation, the commissioner told the newspaper that Najera was not technically an employee, but a subcontractor who invoices the company and receives a 1099 to document his taxable income.
Although he was aware of Najera’s arrest in 2015 and received copies of the arrest report and body camera footage from the arrest in January, Readdick maintains he currently has no knowledge that Najera is not a legal resident of the U.S.
“That I am not aware of. He is not a citizen but he’s got some type of work authorization. I don’t know what that is. I would have to go back and look at that acronym of the authorization to know what it is,” Readdick said.
He also said he did not believe any of his other employees were in the country illegally.
“We are not trying to get out there and break the rules or do anything we shouldn’t do,” Readdick said.
Newspaper inquiry
The Tribune & Georgian contacted Readdick on March 9 after reviewing documents received in an open records request to the city of Kingsland. He answered the newspaper’s questions for about 30 minutes.
Later that day, in an email titled “Official Statement,” Readdick reiterated that he did nothing wrong in contacting the police department.
“If you read the entire email chain, it’s evident that the special consideration that I was asking for was not because I am an elected official, but as a business owner who had previously dealt with a nearly identical situation. Misconstruing this information to the press is a cowardly act, and I find it going against the relationship that I’ve worked many years to build with the City of Kingsland,” Readdick wrote in the March 9 email.
“Chief Jones should realize that he’s policing a community and not the Carroll County Correctional Institution anymore. Our community has a great resource of valuable business leaders and outstanding citizens that must be protected. While I agree that laws and ordinances should be enforced unilaterally, sometimes special consideration is required. I believe that special consideration, better known as officer or police discretion, should be applied equally to all citizens and/or business leaders in our community.
The email continued, “Make no mistake, I have no hard feelings about you doing your job and fulfilling your duties to your audience. The following statement is not to be misconstrued as a bribe but as a condition of maintaining a good working relationship between ourselves. As long as your article is written accurately, unbiased, and includes the entire truth then I would be open to keeping you abreast of the operational violations that I’ve discovered within KPD. These are much larger issues than someone misconstruing an email as abuse of power.”
Chief Jones has declined to comment on Readdick’s email to the newspaper or Readdick’s comments about the KPD.
(The full email correspondence between Readdick and the city can be read in its entirety at https://www.tribune-georgian.com/sites/tribune-georgian.etypegoogle7.com/files/2021-03/Readdick-KPD%20emails.pdf)