Looks like Jennings Jones is back to hiring rejects from other counties with spotty pasts.
Rumor has it that Rutherford County District Attorney Jennings Jones has hired Bret Gunn, formerly of the 13th Judicial District.
Gunn was forced to resign his Putnam County job back in late January after being accused of withholding evidence in a rape trial, according to the Herald-Citizen.
In early February 2020, Putnam County Judge Gary McKenzie gave Gunn a Brady violation. That means he withheld evidence (allegedly) that was favorable to the defendant.
Of course Gunn maintains he did nothing wrong, just like in 2016 when he was removed from the murder case against Wayne Gary Masciarella, who was accused of killing Courtney Cash, the grand niece of country music legend Johnny Cash. In this case, Gunn reportedly did not disclose to the defendant's attorney that he had the contact information for a witness or what the witness would testify about.
"It's unheard of to hide a material witness," one of the defense attorneys Shawn Fry said in 2016.
You what else is unheard of – a DA hiring not one but two attorneys with a history of hiding evidence that could hurt their case.
Back in 2002 ADA John Zimmerman was censured by the state's Board of Professional Responsibility for withholding evidence. And he had two prior disciplinary actions before that. One was in 1994 when he accused a judge of lying to a jury.
As a reminder, Zimmerman is the same guy who convinced Jones and every cop in town that CBD was illegal and raiding local businesses in "Operation Candy Crush" was a good idea.
At least his bad actions were two decades ago. This Gunn guy did it two months ago.
I wonder if these two will share an office here in Rutherford County. Seems like they have similar judicial philosophies.
There are so many good local attorneys who could be ADAs here. Jones had to go and hire these guys.
Jones's best hires since his election have been women. Surely he could find a better woman for the job instead of another mediocre man.