An Assistant District Attorney was fired last month after it was discovered that she displayed her ADA credentials while offering legal advice to a suspect during an investigation in Chatham County.
Renorda Herring was employed by the Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney’s Office as an Assistant District Attorney over the Major Crimes Division. Herring was hired in April 2026 by the late District Attorney Robert Busbee following the departure of ADA Matt Breedon. Like Breedon and others, Herring previously worked at the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office.
During her six-month tenure in the office, Herring handled a number of high profile cases, including the Keinth Moreno Guzman child molestation case, the Charles Hammons child molestation case, and as second chair in the Bulloch County murder trial against Robert Keller, among others.
Herring’s termination stemmed from an incident that occurred on Saturday, August 1, 2026 in the city limits of Pooler. Police responded to the intersection of Pooler Parkway and I-16 in reference to a reported hit-and-run collision. Ultimately, an arrest was made, but Herring’s employment came into question two months after the incident when a Pooler police officer contacted District Attorney Catherine Sumner “Regarding Conduct of Assistant District Attorney Renorda Herring. Officer Blake Johnson wrote that he believed “the circumstances surrounding Ms. Herring’s involvement raised concerns regarding professional conduct and the appropriate use of prosecutorial authority that warrant being brought to [Sumner’s] attention.”
Email to Sumner, Incident Report, and Body Cam
Officer Johnson wrote in his email to Sumner on October 1 his investigation into the hit and run yielded a suspect based on information from the other driver, a license plate number, information obtained through an automated license plate reader, and physical damage to both vehicles that was consistent with the crash.
He said he first attempted to have the suspect to return to the crash scene, identify himself, and cooperate with the investigation, noting that he told the suspect and his parents that he would address the underlying traffic violation with a citation for Following Too Closely if he voluntarily returned to the scene. If he did not, Johnson would seek an arrest warrant for Hit & Run.
“During these telephone conversations, Ms. Herring interjected herself and advised that the suspect would not be returning to the crash scene and they would instead meet me at the Pooler Police Department. I informed Ms. Herring that she would not dictate the location or direction of my investigation and that I expected the suspect to return to the scene as previously instructed,” Johnson wrote to Sumner. He said she requested his name and badge number, which he provided.
Video from roadside call to suspect with Herring interjecting (2nd video below)
According to Johnson, a Pooler PD sergeant then contacted the suspect’s parents, who passed the sergeant’s number on to Herring who then contacted police. Herring said in that conversation that she was unsure if he was a legitimate Pooler police officer and that’s why she wanted to meet at the PD. She also said she had used a database to confirm his position, but could not find Johnson in that database.
Herring ultimately went to the Pooler Police Department with the suspect where she “displayed her prosecutorial credentials in an identification-style wallet and identified herself as a District Attorney,” according to Johnson’s email to Sumner.
Body worn camera shows Herring walking up smiling and saying, “Heyyyy…I know you know who I am. Let me show you my badge, I don’t want nobody…I know you probably got me on camera. You got your things on, right?”
Johnson’s email continued:
“I introduced myself again to the suspect and advised him that he had one opportunity to be truthful regarding the incident. I instructed him to explain what had occurred from beginning to end and informed him that he had the floor to provide his account.”
“Before the suspect could respond, Ms. Herring interrupted and stated that I needed to ask him a question. I explained that I had already instructed the suspect to provide a complete account of the incident from beginning to end. Ms. Herring continued to interrupt and insisted that I ask a specific question. During this exchange, she gestured with her hand toward my face while speaking. I instructed her to lower her hand and advised her that she was not going to place her hand in my face while addressing me.”
Ms. Herring then stated that I had initiated the hostility by threatening the suspect and his family with arrest warrants for Hit and Run…”
“…Throughout this encounter, the suspect remained largely silent while Ms. Herring continued speaking on his behalf. She subsequently advised the suspect that he did not have to provide any statements and instructed him to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights. Sergeant Zeigler specifically asked Ms. Herring whether she was instructing the suspect to plead the Fifth, to which she responded affirmatively.”
“I fully recognize and respect the suspect’s constitutional right to remain silent, as well as an attorney’s ability to provide legal guidance. My concern was not that Ms. Herring advised the suspect of his rights, but rather the manner in which she involved herself in the investigation while identifying herself through her official prosecutorial credentials.”
The suspect was subsequently placed under arrest for Hit & Run. Herring then asked what evidence existed against him, to which officers stated could be obtained through the Open Records process.
“Ms. Herring responded, in substance, that she did not need to go through Open Records because she could simply contact “Shalena,” referring to the District Attorney for Chatham County. Sergeant Zeigler reiterated that the appropriate procedures for obtaining investigative records would still need to be followed. Ms. Herring then emphasized that she was a District Attorney,” Johnson’s email to Sumner reads.
In the video, Herring can be heard saying, “It doesn’t have to be open records, I’ll just call Shalena. Remember I’m a DA. I’m a district attorney.” Once the suspect was placed in the vehicle, Herring can be heard telling him “Don’t say nothin.”
Herring also asked for the keys to his truck, but Pooler PD told her that they were placing a hold on the vehicle for the investigation and it would be towed.
Toward the end of the arrest portion of the video, Herring asked Johnson for his badge number again, to which he replied, “Same as I told you on the phone, 652.”
Herring replied, “No, you lied. I wrote it down. You lied.”
Video from Pooler PD parking lot with suspect questioning.
Johnson said when he returned to his vehicle, he noticed Herring was in a vehicle with a government license plate and a tag for Bulloch County. He researched more and learned Herring worked for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit.
In closing, Johnson wrote that he waited two months because of the ‘nature’ of their interaction and that he wanted to leave time for his conduct to be evaluated independently before he raised his own concerns. He said Herring did not file a complaint against him. He provided the case number for the incident report and referenced body-worn camera footage.
Termination of Herring
After receiving the email on October 1, the District Attorney’s Office filed an Open Records Request with the Pooler Police Department to independently verify the claims.
TheGeorgiaVirtue obtained those records in an Open Records Request with the District Attorney’s Office. The files indicate that District Attorney Catherine Sumner reviewed the body camera footage, the officer’s accident report, and the incident report. Sumner confirmed to TheGeorgiaVirtue on October 30 that the records prompted a meeting with Herring and that meeting culminated with Herring’s termination on Friday, October 16.
The Prosecuting Attorneys Council was notified on Monday, October 19 with paperwork listing ‘Performance’ as the reason for termination.
