The troubles keep piling up for embattled Pearson Mayor Robert Johnson. Earlier this week, a judge in Atkinson County awarded Colony Square LLC a large sum of money as a result of a failed restaurant venture in Fitzgerald in which Johnson was a party.
Documents filed in Atkinson County on Wednesday show that Colony Square was awarded $163,547.15 for back rent and other expenses related to the restaurant venture. The defendants are listed as Mayor Johnson and his brother, Jarvis Johnson. The amount due under the lease is $148,422.88. The defendants must also pay attorney’s fees in the amount of $14,867.29 along with another $256.98 in court costs.
On March 19, 2025, Mayor Johnson filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Georgia. This newest liability resulting from Wednesday’s judgment was not, of course, listed in his filing.
On February 4, 2025, Mayor Johnson was arrested on a number of felony charges by GBI agents. He remained in custody until March 6, 2025, when he was granted bond. Despite the charges, Johnson is still the mayor of Pearson and will remain so until he is indicted by a grand jury, convicted, or pleads guilty to felony charges.