Fayette DA presents motion to convene an investigating grand jury
The Fayette County District Attorney has requested to convene a county investigating grand jury.
The motion was made Wednesday by District Attorney Richard Bower before President Judge John F. Wagner Jr.
Bower did not go into any details, only that Fayette County Judge Joseph M. George Jr. would supervise the grand jury, and that the jury would summon no fewer than 38 eligible persons to serve.
“The convening of a county investigating grand jury is necessary because of the existence of such criminal activity within the county,” Bower stated in his motion. “The existence of such criminal activity can best be investigated using the investigative resources of a grand jury.”
The last time a judge granted such a request was in 2012, when then-President Judge Gerald R. Solomon granted the motion from then-District Attorney Jack Heneks Jr. for an investigating grand jury to recommend charges on a variety of fronts, from election violations to unsolved homicides.
That investigating grand jury recommended charges be filed against two Bullskin Township supervisors in 2013 accused of assisting voters in completing absentee ballots despite knowing that some of those people didn’t meet qualifications of being an absentee voter.
Wagner will make a decision on the motion.