Pendergrass Police Chief Billy McDaniel submitted his resignation to Mayor Bill Ellis on Oct. 25, the mayor told the council at its Oct. 28 meeting.
McDaniel’s resignation follows the completion of a GBI investigation into missing evidence. No updates were given about the plans for a new police chief.
City Checking Account Hacked
The City of Pendergrass’s checking account was hacked after someone allegedly intercepted a check being mailed to WEX Inc. on Oct. 24, the mayor reported. SouthState Bank alerted Ellis about the hacker on Friday afternoon and issued Pendergrass a new account the same day.
“It got into somebody’s little hands, and they put it out on the internet, and they sold the account number off the check,” Ellis said.
Someone in Norcross attempted to create a fraudulent check using the same checking number and routing number as the stolen check on Oct. 28, he said. SouthState caught the activity and prevented the check from going through.
“The bank is monitoring any old activity on the old account number, and they have the list of checks that were written that were good and supposed to be paid by the bank, so they are aware of what’s going on,” Ellis said.
He said $25,000 must be left in the old checking account to cover outstanding checks that had been issued before the hacker.
Ethical Concerns About City Clerk, Contractor
Council member Gabriel Gomez raised concerns about payments sent to a company named Timber and Tools. Gomez said he reached out to finance officer Jennifer Leshok to receive information regarding the company. Leshok told Gomez the company was owned by city clerk Renee Martinez and her husband, Ricardo Martinez.
Invoices obtained by Gomez show Ricardo Martinez had been paid as a solo contractor until Timber and Tools was created as a DBA and added to the Pendergrass vendor list in August, he told the council. Leshok told Gomez that Ricardo Martinez had not received any payments after August since he was not listed as a vendor, but Gomez found Timber and Tools listed.
“I asked her who’s the owner of Timber and Tools? And she says, Renee Martinez,” Gomez said. “So, to me, I feel like that was kind of deceptive. I feel like I’ve been lied to.”
Council member Bob Carter questioned Gomez’s concerns, saying that Ricardo Martinez may have been a sole proprietor, but now that he’s getting older and getting more work, he started the company to hire more employees and take on multiple projects at once.
That’s a family business, so again, I’m going to protect the family business,” Carter said.
However, Carter did agree with Gomez’s concerns about Renee Martinez having the ability to sign the checks written out to Timber and Tools, along with checks given to her daughter, who works as a part-time employee for the city. Mayor Ellis said the process for approving checks includes three people: himself, Leshok and Renee Martinez.
The council went into an executive session afterward to discuss personnel issues. They emerged from executive session, but did not return to the regular meeting.
Meeting Dates Moved Up for Holidays
Pendergrass City Council moved the public budget meeting to 6 p.m. Nov. 11. The meeting was previously scheduled for Oct. 21, but the council did not have quorum.
The council has changed its November meeting to Nov. 18 instead of Nov. 25 due to its proximity to Thanksgiving. The council plans to vote on the fiscal year 2026 budget and swear in the new city council officials on Nov. 18.
The December city council meeting was previously scheduled for Dec. 23, but the council moved it to Dec. 16 due to Christmas.
Margaret Pope is a Fink Fellow in the Cox Institute’s Journalism Writing Lab at the University of Georgia. The story also was published in The Jackson Herald.
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