Formerly suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis has been returned to his position.

Ellis, whose attempted extortion and perjury convictions were overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court in November, was reinstated immediately following the county receiving the necessary paperwork from the high court.

According to a legal opinion released Friday by DeKalb County Attorney O.V. Brantley, the overturning of his conviction required the county to reinstate Ellis.

Mike Thurmond, the newly elected DeKalb CEO, will take over the position in January.

Ellis was found guilty in July 2015 of perjury and attempted theft by extortion and was sentenced to serve 18 months of a five-year sentence in prison. He was released early in March after serving about eight months.

Justice Harold Melton wrote in the unanimous opinion that the evidence was sufficient to convict Ellis, but that the convictions had to be reversed because of technical errors during his trial.

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