Richard Terrence Jenkins, charged in connection with "Sovereign Citizen" home takeovers, was granted bond Thursday.
DeKalb Superior Court Judge Robert Castellani set bond at $50,000 and ordered Jenkins to have no contact with witnesses or prosecutors in the case, said Orzy Theus, spokesman for the DeKalb District Attorney's office. Jenkins, who's charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, can travel only to Richmond County, where he's from.
He was arrested Aug. 2 and remained in the DeKalb County jail Friday afternoon, according to jail records.
Sovereign citizens believe they are immune to state and federal laws. They assert, among other things, that banks can't own land and that any home owned by a bank – including the thousands throughout Georgia – is free for the taking.
Locally, investigators have tied the sovereign citizens to at least 19 property thefts in DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Spalding, Newton and Richmond counties. They include mansions – some still under construction – and a shopping center in Buckhead valued at $13 million.
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