A former Stonecrest mayor who went to prison for stealing COVID-19 relief money now faces state charges for lying about his criminal record to register to vote and run for city council.
What’s Happening: A DeKalb County grand jury indicted 63-year-old Jason Wallace Lary on Tuesday on four charges, including false registration and making false statements about his candidacy.
- Lary signed documents in August claiming he was not a convicted felon when he registered to vote and filed to run for Stonecrest City Council District 5.
- He was released from federal prison in February and remains under three years of supervised release for his 2022 conviction.
What’s Important: Lary went to federal prison in 2022 after pleading guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds meant for Stonecrest while he served as mayor. He spent nearly three years behind bars.
Between the Lines: Two citizens challenged Lary’s candidacy, prompting the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections to investigate. The board voted unanimously in September to disqualify him as a candidate and remove him from voter rolls.
Catch Up Quick: Lary pleaded guilty in January 2022 to wire fraud, federal program theft, and conspiracy. A federal judge sentenced him to four years and nine months in prison in July 2022.
What Happens Next: Lary plans to turn himself in to the DeKalb County Jail today. The District Attorney’s office has agreed to a $5,000 bond. He will be scheduled for an arraignment on the charges.
The Sources: DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
🛑 🛑 🛑
Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
