July 30, 2025 — Judge Tammy Long Hayward presiding over the Clayton County State Court bench trial calendar accepted negotiated no-contest (nolo) pleas and handled several traffic-related matters, including amended speeding charges, suspended fines and merged counts.
The dispositions resolved a string of misdemeanor driving cases without jury trials and included amended speeds, suspended fines, and directions for payment or follow-up from court clerks.
Edgar Jones Jr. entered a no-contest plea to failure to yield (case 2022CR07075). The state described the factual basis as a December 15, 2021, incident on Garden Walk Boulevard in which the defendant “failed to yield to oncoming traffic and caused an automobile accident.” The court accepted the plea and imposed a $100 fine suspended so long as Jones has no new violations.
In case 2022CR02543 (amended from a higher speed), the court accepted a negotiated nolo plea to an amended speed of 65 in a 45 zone; the parties stipulated to the facts, the court ordered a $100 fine suspended, and the defendant received credit for completing a driver improvement course.
Charles Noel Bangorra entered a nolo plea to an amended speeding charge of 70 in a 45; the court accepted the plea, ordered a $300 fine (stated in the hearing to total $444 with surcharges), no-processed counts 1 and 2 and merged count 4 into count 3. The court allowed up to 60 days for payment upon request and instructed the defendant to send an email address to court staff for payment information.
Mister Johnson (case 2022CR06949) entered a nolo plea to an amended speed of 93 in a 65 zone. The state recommended a $500 fine; the court announced the fine and stated the total with surcharges during the hearing. The court noted the defendant had completed a defensive driving course and gave standard admonitions about safe driving.
Harry Charles Middleton pleaded no contest to driving on the wrong side of the road (case 2023CR11013); the court accepted the plea and imposed a suspended $100 fine conditioned on no new violations within 12 months.
Gregory Hadley, who earlier required a short video review before electing a plea, entered a nolo plea to a charge of “too close with an accident” (case 2023CR11171). The court accepted a suspended $100 fine conditioned on no new violations within 12 months.
Several other calendar items were continued to pretrial or set for conference, and the court used breakout rooms during the virtual session to permit defense counsel and prosecutors to confer or show evidence to clients. Judge Hayward repeatedly reminded participants to mute devices when conferring and instructed defendants to provide email addresses to court clerks for payment information.
The calendar concluded after the court disposed of the listed matters and confirmed there were no victims present in the courtroom for the cases resolved.