Grand Jury Hands Out True Bills of Indictment

A Stephens County grand jury indicts a man on charges of attempting to commit extortion against a local business.

The grand jury handed down a true bill of indictment against Robert Pietrowicz on Tuesday for three counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony.

Pietrowicz, who is from Clayton, was arrested on the charges by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office last June.

Authorities accuse Pietrowicz of contacting a business in Stephens County at which he used to work and demanding they give him money.

According to the indictment, Pietrowicz is charged with threatening to disseminate information about a local business in an effort to harm the business if the business did not give him money on two separate occasions in April of last year.

The third count alleges Pietrowicz attempted to extort the money by contacting the business and threatening to accuse someone else of a criminal offense. That also allegedly happened in April 2014.

Meanwhile, the Stephens County grand jury also indicted a man on an arson charge Tuesday.

The grand jury issued a true bill of indictment against a man identified as James Douglas Roberts on one count of Arson in the First Degree.

According to the indictment, Roberts is accused of setting fire to a house on Almond Street, causing damage to the home, on or around July 23, 2013.

In all, the grand jury handed down nearly 30 true bills of indictment while meeting Tuesday.

This was the first meeting for the new grand jury, which started its term this month.