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Note: To view the latest breaking news, please click the button at the top of the menu to the left. If the button is not present, it is because there has been no breaking news published yet this week. Woods pleads 'not guilty'
An article in The Forest- Blade on July 11 stated that Woods was to be arraigned on Aug. 15. However, court documents revealed that Woods was actually arraigned on July 18, almost a month before the pre-arranged date. According to District Attorney Steve Askew, the original date of Aug. 15 was set "because we were trying to get a date for another judge other than the two local judges" to be at the hearing. However, Askew said he then concluded that there would be no "conflict of interest" for a local judge to preside at the arraignment and the July 18 date was assigned instead. Judge Kathy S. Palmer presided over the arraignment. Repeated calls from The Forest-Blade to Mr. Woods were not returned. State warrants allege that Woods embezzled a total of $237,798.25 from Emanuel County Board of Education, including some funds from the Youth Leadership Emanuel, an account maintained by Swainsboro Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce. Funds obtained were from miscellaneous grants which were then processed through the Board of Education for disbursements. Woods signed invoices authorizing payments. He had access to a letterhead called "The Therapy Group" and originated the invoices. Woods must appear in court on Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. to answer criminal charges now pending. His pretrial conference is set for Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. and a calendar call date is set for Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. He was arrested on Feb. 23 this year and released the same day on a $100,000 bond. A grand jury returned a true bill on all 124 counts of theft by deception on June 25.
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