Stacey Barchenger, and Joey Garrison

The Tennessean

Metro Nashville Councilman Loniel Greene resigned Friday after less than five months on the job amid scrutiny of his actions in court that legal experts say could lead to criminal charges.

Greene sent a letter to Vice Mayor David Briley late Friday, resigning from the District 1 seat. The letter, released to The Tennessean by a representative for Greene, says Greene has become a distraction to the work of the council.

“It has been an honor to represent my constituents, and I appreciate all the support that they, along with my family, friends, and colleagues, have offered since I took office,” Greene said in a statement released by the rookie councilman’s representative. “This was a difficult decision, but I believe it is the correct course. As I said in my letter to Vice Mayor Briley, I do not want to distract from the Council’s important business.”

Analysis: Councilman Loniel Greene could face felonies

Greene said he would not comment further.

Read his full resignation letter at the bottom of this story.

Less than two months after he was sworn in to represent the Bordeaux and Joelton areas, Greene was shot and wounded near a West Nashville gas station.

Greene told police he followed a man he recognized down a nearby street, where he was shot three times. Many questions about that incident remain unanswered.

Suspect in Loniel Greene shooting arrested

Then, Greene appeared in court Jan. 6 and lied about the source of money he put up to bond his cousin out of jail, prosecutors argued in a motion filed on Thursday.

Nashville prosecutors also said someone using Greene’s cellphone number conspired in explicit phone calls with the cousin to keep a woman from attending court in a domestic violence case.

Transcripts of those calls in the public court record say someone at Greene’s number said:

“Let me, let me work on her. Because s---, they gonna need her … let me work on her.”

“You just can’t try to just throw him up the river and then think that you gonna be accepted in the family, that just don’t work.”

“’Cuz this game you try to play. You try to play the system, mother f----- I am the system.”

That motion was filed Thursday.

Greene resigned in about 24 hours.

AUDIO: Recorded calls with Councilman Loniel Greene's phone

Briley, who presides over the council, said he accepted Greene’s resignation at the end of a meeting between the two on Friday to discuss his “current circumstances.”

Briley plans to appoint one of five at-large council members to handle issues in District 1 until a special election can be held. That election will likely happen during the August general election.

In a prepared statement that recounted their meeting, Briley said that Greene “expressed a very sincere regret for any embarrassment that he has caused his constituents, the council or the city.

“I appreciate Councilman Greene’s service to the city and the fact that he has chosen to put the interests of his constituents first,” Briley said.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said Greene did the right thing by resigning.

"Nashville deserves to have elected leaders they can trust to uphold the law and serve as role models," she said. "I hope whoever is elected to replace Mr. Greene to serve Council District 1 will do just that.”

Nick Leonardo, an attorney who lost to Greene by 37 votes in the September Metro election runoff, confirmed he plans to run in the special election to replace Greene. If Greene had not resigned, Leonardo threatened to pursue a recall effort to oust him.

Councilman Greene faces recall effort if he doesn�t resign

Prosecutors on Thursday filed about seven minutes of excerpts of phone calls between Greene’s cellphone number and inmate Tavares Buchanan, 30. The calls are attached to the state’s motion to revoke Buchanan’s bond in a domestic violence case.

The motion says Greene was under oath when he told a judge the $10,000 bond was his own earnings. The state says jail conversations show that is not true, and question whether the money was Buchanan’s and came from criminal deeds.

The state says that someone using Greene’s phone number schemed with Buchanan to keep Buchanan’s girlfriend out of court.

Buchanan is accused of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. An arrest affidavit says Buchanan got irate at his girlfriend, Sparkle Johnson, after a family gathering on Christmas Day. Buchanan gave her a gun and told her to kill herself and physically attacked her so she was scared to leave, the affidavit says.

They also said that since Greene vouched for Buchanan, officials discovered videos Buchanan took of the woman with a bloody lip and the word “f---“ written in black marker on her forehead.

Prosecutors have not said whether Greene will face charges related to the Buchanan case.

But three Nashville attorneys, legal experts who reviewed the motion at The Tennessean’s request, said he could be charged with perjury for lying in court about the source of the money.

Defense attorney David Raybin said Greene, who is also a lawyer, could also face professional consequences.

"For him, being an attorney, to suggest such a thing is completely inappropriate, to say the least," Raybin said. "There may be ethical problems he’s facing with the Board of Professional Responsibility over that."

DA: Councilman Loniel Greene lied in court

In the phone calls, the person at Greene’s number says he knows jail calls are recorded. The man uses racial epithets and says he will “deal” with the woman.

The filing says the person at Greene’s number said, in separate and multiple conversations in December and January:

"Bobby, don't say too much on the phone. I got you. But listen, let this be a lesson. ... If she willing to do this to you, you can't f--- with her. If she willing to do this to you, to put the white folks to you. .. you don't deserve this s--- here. ... Let me deal with this."

"I told her ... my problem with her is, she think she smart. And I'm like, b----, I'm smarter than you.”

Read the full motion here.

Greene’s resignation came after Mayor Barry issued a statement Friday that urged Greene to “consider whether he can faithfully represent the constituents of his district without becoming a distraction.” Council member Jeremy Elrod advised Greene to “strongly consider” resigning and At-large Councilman Bob Mendes made a similar statement.

His exit marks the first resignation of a member of the Metro Council for conduct or character-related issues since former Vice Mayor Ronnie Steine. Steine resigned in 2002 after being arrested twice on shoplifting charges.

Greene’s actions come as domestic violence had emerged a hot-button issue in Nashville.

Pat Shea, CEO of the YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee, said she was appalled by media reports on Greene. She said the “patriarchal behaviors” in the case raised questions about victims being able to trust the system.

“As advocates, we are constantly asked why women do not report abuse, why women will not prosecute (and) why women cannot just leave,” Shea said. “This recent high-profile incident provides a perfect example of why victims don’t, won’t, and can’t.”

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or on Twitter @sbarchenger. Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 at on Twitter @JoeyGarrison.