A Woodstock city judge has resigned her posts in Woodstock and as a Marietta city judge and faces more than 20 charges for her actions at a holiday party at her Cobb County home.
Diane Busch, and her friend and neighbor, Kathryn Middleton, were charged March 5 for allegedly providing alcohol to teens at Busch’s Kennesaw home in December.
Busch, 47, faces 21 charges, including 10 counts of providing alcohol to minors, six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, four counts of party to a crime—aiding and abetting for providing alcohol to minors and one count of obstruction, according Cobb Police Public Information Officer Joe Hernandez.
Middleton, 46, faces the same charges, except for the obstruction charge, Hernandez said.
Neither Busch’s attorney, Jimmy Berry, nor Middleton’s attorney, Joel Pugh, returned calls for comment at press time.
Busch and Middleton turned themselves in to the Cobb County jail at 4:50 p.m. March 5. Both women posted a $3,500 bond each, just before 6 p.m. the same day.
Busch and Middleton allegedly allowed 10 people under the age of 21 to drink alcohol at a December party. A special prosecutor was assigned to the case at the request of Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan—one of his employees was at the Dec. 21 party, but left prior to police arriving.
Sen. John Wiles, R-Kennesaw, who tried to keep a college baseball player from being cited, according to the police report, was not charged by Cobb Police. Busch reportedly negotiated a plea of 150 hours of baseball under a diversion program for the 19-year-old, but Morgan said he has since refiled the charges against the teen, due to paperwork not being completed.
Busch was charged with obstruction, because she allegedly hindered a police officer during his investigation at her home.
According to the arrest warrant filed in Cobb Magistrate Court March 5, Busch was disingenuous with an officer trying to locate a juvenile in the home.
“Accused did … knowingly and willfully hinder Officer S.T. Walton, in the lawful discharge of his duties, by misrepresenting the present location of a juvenile, whom the officer was attempting to locate in order to obtain parental information for the purpose of requesting that the minor’s parents collect him from the location, when the accused stated to said officer that the minor had left the location with his parents prior to the arrival of law enforcement; a statement Officer S.T. Walton knew to be false,” Sgt. C.E. Dong wrote in the warrant.
At about 3 a.m. Dec. 22, Cobb police responded to Busch’s home in the Marietta Country Club subdivision to investigate reported gunshots. The officers found popped balloons in the driveway—what they believed to be the cause of the gunshot sounds—and, when they went to investigate, they found several teens under the influence of alcohol. Ten teens were cited that night.
Middleton was the first of-age adult police encountered, who then got Busch, who had been asleep, the report said. Both women appeared to be intoxicated, the report states.
According to Woodstock City Manager Jeff Moon, Busch tendered her resignation verbally to him March 5, but e-mailed a resignation letter, dated March 8, to him and the mayor and city council March 6.
“It (is) with a heavy heart that I pen this letter and ask that you accept my resignation as the Judge of the City of Woodstock,” Busch wrote in her letter. “It is clear that I cannot be effectively focused on my duties while the matter in Cobb County is pending.”
Busch reportedly sent a similar letter to Marietta officials, resigning from her post as that city’s judge.
Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques previously had said that city officials would wait until the issue came to a resolution before making a decision about Busch’s employment with the city.
“Charges aren’t a resolution,” Henriques said March 8. “You’re innocent until proven guilty.”
He said that he had heard Busch was to resign, but he had been out of town and didn’t have official word about that at press time.
Moon said temporary judges are in place for March, and he was going to suggest to the city council, which, by city charter, appoints the municipal court judge, to start a search process.
“My recommendation to council is going to be … to go ahead and advertise for the position and accept resumes on it,” Moon said. “They can take their time this month since we already have someone booked.”
