SPACE'S ATTORNEY SEEKS DELAY

Lawyer says he needs more time to prepare a defense for the suspended
Effingham sheriff who's fighting a petition to kick him out of office.

Lawyers for Effingham County Sheriff Jay Space say they need at least
another month to prepare their case showing the suspended lawman should not
be permanently removed from office.

Savannah lawyer Bobby Phillips said he will ask Superior Court Judge
William E. Woodrum Jr. for a one-month continuance during a pre-trial
hearing Friday morning.

"Even the most heinous criminal deserves time to prepare an adequate
defense," Phillips said. "Jay has served the public in law enforcement for
18 years, and he has a provable medical situation that should also be
considered. We just need another month to prepare our case."

Space was formally served with the petition to remove him from office on
July 10. That same day he was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation for illegally purchasing 4,000 prescription pills over the
Internet.

Facing five felony drug charges, Space is free on $10,000 bond.

Even before those charges, it had been a rough few months for the
second-term sheriff, who told people last summer that he had multiple
sclerosis.

In late May, after months of complaints about Space's alleged inappropriate
behavior, officials at the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and the Effingham
County Commission asked Gov. Roy Barnes to investigate Space and consider
suspending him.

On June 18, after a two-week investigation by two other sheriffs and
Attorney General Thurbert Baker, Barnes suspended Space for 60 days. Under
state law, it can be extended 30 days.

That gives Woodrum until mid-September to decide on District Attorney Joe
Martin's petition.

A 30-day continuance would push jury selection back to Aug. 12, with a
trial to follow.

In the petition, which he filed after reading the committee's transcripts
and doing his own investigation, Martin alleges that multiple sclerosis and
drug abuse have incapacitated Space during the past 18 months.

Phillips said defense lawyers have been slowed by the number of allegations
in the 17-page petition and by Space's medical condition.

"There are allegations of 24 criminal incidents and numerous other driving
and disorderly conduct complaints over a period of nearly two years," said
Phillips. "We need time to seek out the facts and determine what happened.

"Sheriff Space is in bad shape right now because of the MS and we are
raising the issue of whether he is able to stand trial," Phillips said.
"This is a petition in civil court, but it is a quasi-criminal situation.

"For the state to come along at this point and say, 'We're going to kick
him out of office without giving him time to prepare a defense' is
unreasonable," said Phillips. "Jay Space is down now, and the DA is trying
to kick him."

Martin declined to comment on the removal petition, but said that he felt
some of Phillips comments were inappropriate.

"I can't comment on the case other than to say let's stay focused on the
primary issue -- the public safety of the people of Effingham County,"
Martin said.

Jay Space chronology

In addition to claiming that Effingham County Sheriff Jay Space illegally
bought more than 4,000 prescription pills, the Petition for Removal from
Office filed last week by District Attorney Joe Martin also makes numerous
claims about dangerous driving, inability to work and disorderly conduct.

Here are some of the petition's allegations:

Erratic Driving

* Jan. 10, 2000 -- Sheriff Space was involved in a one-car accident on
Little McCall Road. Damage to the patrol car was $6,891.

* Between Jan. 1 and March 17, 2001 -- Space attempted to drive a county
car between a truck and several wooden posts at the sheriff's department,
striking one of the posts.

* Between Jan. 1 and March 17, 2001 -- Deputies Scott Lewis and J.R.
Bradley watched as Space drove away from the sheriff's office. Space ran
the stop sign at First Street Extension and Ga. 21, and was nearly hit
broadside by a tractor-trailer. They said the sheriff made no attempt to
avoid the near collision.

* April 13, 2001 -- Garden City police stopped Space as a suspected
impaired driver.

Space was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and he was unable to
unbutton his pants pocket to get his driver's license.

Police allowed a friend to drive him to a Savannah hospital.

* Aug. 4, 2001 -- Space drove a county car into the back of a Ford
Expedition on Ga. 21 in Garden City.

A city policeman indicated Space appeared to be under the influence, but
the accident was investigated by a Georgia State Patrol trooper who did not
test the sheriff.

Damage to the Expedition was $4,953, and damage to the county car was $5,322.

* Aug. 10, 2001 -- Driving his 2000 Mercedes Benz E-320, Space ran into the
back of a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Mall Boulevard in Savannah.

* Sept. 29, 2001 -- Georgia State Patrol Trooper Brian Strickland stopped
Space in his Mercedes for speeding and reckless driving. Strickland said
Space refused to comply with his instructions and was argumentative.

* February or March 2002 -- Space refused to stop his Mercedes for a
Springfield policeman after the officer saw him run a red light.

* March or April 2002 -- Deputy J.R. Bradley saw a car driving erratically
on Ga. 21 between Springfield and Rincon. When the deputy caught up to the
car, he noticed it was being driven by Space.

Bradley followed and watched the car as it nearly struck the center island
on one section of Ga. 21, then drove in the center lane and left turning
lane through much of Rincon.

* Around March-May 2002 -- On one occasion, Space was unsteady on his feet
and appeared to be under the influence at the sheriff's office, causing
deputies to be concerned about his ability to drive.

Deputy Scott Lewis followed Space from the sheriff's office in Springfield
to Space's home in Rincon.

* April 23, 2002 -- Space swore at a Port Wentworth policeman and acted
disorderly after the officer stopped him for speeding.

* May 2002 -- Georgia State Patrol Lt. Mike Fagle saw Space driving a
patrol car in an erratic and unsafe manner, but did not stop the car.

* May 21, 2002 -- After appearing to be under the influence at an Effingham
County Commission meeting in downtown Springfield, Space was seen driving
his county car in an unsafe manner. Space ran a stop sign trying to access
Laurel Street, and was almost hit broadside by a van. He then attempted to
turn off Laurel Street and ran up on the curb.

* June 11, 2002 -- While Tift County Sheriff Gary Vowell was in Savannah
investigating Space's alleged incapacity, Vowell saw Space drive into the
parking lot at the Chatham County Sheriff's Department Complex and attempt
to park his car.

Vowell said Space was unable to park the car properly and had trouble
getting out of the car, nearly falling to the pavement. Space was also
unsteady on his feet.

Public Disturbances

* Between March 17 and April 18, 2001 -- In compliance with state law, a
deputy removed the old Georgia flag from the flagpole at the sheriff's
office and raised the new state flag. When Space saw the new flag, he took
it down, threw it onto the floor and repeatedly stomped on it.

He initially ordered deputies to take the new flag out and burn it. Later,
he put it in the trunk of a patrol car. After family members had Space
committed to Ridgeview Hospital in Atlanta in April and May, deputies
removed the flag from the car and raised it on the flagpole.

* April 3, 2001 -- Space behaved in an unkempt and disorderly fashion
during jury selection in Effingham County Superior Court. Lt. Liz Waters
helped the sheriff arrange his clothes in the parking lot. After entering
the courtroom for jury selection, Space was loud and boisterous, unsteady
on his feet and his speech was slurred.

* Easter 2001 -- At the Sheriff's Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Space was
unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and he appeared to be under
the influence.

Space nearly fell from the stage and had to be supported by deputy Mark
Bednarz, who was dressed as the Easter Bunny. Space also got into an
argument with his wife, Rebecca, and Lt. Waters and he drove away from the
park in Pineora in a reckless manner.

* Aug. 7, 2001 -- During National Night Out, Space was unkempt, unsteady on
his feet, incoherent and rambling during the public event in downtown
Springfield. He appeared under the influence.

* Aug. 14, 2001 -- During a discussion about dress code changes for county
employees during a County Commission meeting, Space made inappropriate
comments about women's underwear. Space approached a female county
employee, trying to look at the color and style of her underwear. The next
day, Space called the woman and asked about her underwear again.

* Jan. 29, 2002 -- Space appeared at a reception with other local officials
and state officials during Effingham Day at the Capitol in Atlanta.

Space swore loudly at County Clerk Sandra Andrews and was unsteady on his feet.

* Feb. 5, 2002 -- Space was loud and boisterous during Superior Court jury
selection. Deputy Lt. Mike Wirth escorted Space, who was unsteady on his
feet and had slurred speech, out of the courtroom.

* March 21, 2002 -- Space publicly cursed local lawyer Mickey Kicklighter
and accosted Commissioner Gregg Howze during an Effingham County Commission
meeting. Space rummaged through a local reporter's notes and caused such a
disturbance that the reporter left the meeting.

Commissioners called then-Chief Deputy Rick Dailey at home and asked that a
deputy be sent to remove the sheriff.

Workplace Absences

* Jan. 17, 2001 through June 2002 -- Space seldom reported for work in the
sheriff's office. When Space did visit the office, it was never during
regular business hours and usually at night, when he would lock himself in
his office.

For up to two weeks at a time, Space would not talk with any division
commanders or the chief deputy about the operation of the department.