Unanimous Verdict in Bartee Trial

After four days of testimony and two hours of deliberations, an Oconee County jury delivered a guilty verdict against James Bartee for plotting to kidnap a retired judge.  The unanimous verdict was announced Tuesday afternoon at the Oconee County Courthouse in downtown Walhalla.  The jury convicted the former candidate for Oconee County Sheriff on the charge of solicitation to commit a felony.  Bartee was arrested in May 2012 after SLED agents said they had recorded evidence that showed Bartee was planning to have retired judge James Williams kidnapped.  Williams had filed a lawsuit during the sheriff’s race that alleged Bartee did not meet the qualifications for the office. Judge Lawton McIntosh sentenced Bartee to ten-years in prison, suspended to five-years, with five-years probation, psychiatric counseling, and 250-hours of community service. Bartee’s defense announced it would appeal the verdict.