CAIRO — A grand jury set to be convened in Grady County next week has been postposed following a potential outbreak of COVID-19 in the district attorney’s office.

Grand jurors will not be required to report for duty at the Grady County courthouse Monday.

The postponement comes after South Georgia District Attorney Joe Mulholland said an employee in his office was found to have tested positive for the virus late last week. With the entire district attorney’s staff potentially exposed to the virus and ordered to quarantine for 14 days, Mulholland said he was left with little choice but to postpone the Grady County grand jury scheduled to be convened December 14.

“We’ve had a break already with grand jurors because of the judicial emergency for the last almost-year,” Mulholland said. “Certainly waiting a couple of weeks won’t hurt.”

The grand jury instead likely will be convened sometime in January, though an exact date has not been set. 

Mulholland said whatever date is chosen cannot conflict with other court business that will require his presence.

Residents selected to serve on the grand jury will still be required to do so once a new date has been selected.

Up for deliberation on the December grand jury’s term will be the case of Paul Charles Guerrero, who died in police custody in his Grady County home following an incident with Thomas County SWAT agents. The case was set to go through a process known as civil inspection, where the grand jury would examine the details of the incident which led to Guerrero’s death and then present a recommendation on whether the use of force by the officers involved was justified or if charges should be brought against any of the individuals involved.

The grand jury also may be asked to consider the case of David Kennedy, a Whigham man who was shot multiple times by a Grady County Sheriff’s Office deputy after prosecutors say he attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon against the officer. Mulholland said a decision on whether to allow the grand jury to examine the case has yet to be made.