x
Breaking News
More () »

Who is Pete Skandalakis?

Skandalakis is the veteran Georgia attorney who was appointed to handle the Rayshard Brooks murder case.

ATLANTA — Pete Skandalakis is announcing his decision in the Rayshard Brooks murder case, one of the most consequential in metro Atlanta's recent history.

Skandalakis was not the first person - or even the second - to hold this responsibility. 

The veteran prosecutor was appointed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr last year after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis recused herself.

RELATED: Third DA assigned to prosecute officers in Rayshard Brooks case speaks | 11Alive exclusive

11Alive Investigator Kristin Crowley looked into how he handles cases like this.

Skandalakis told 11Alive months before the decision that he felt prepared to step in and assume the heavy responsibility of the case.

"This case has a lot of attention to it and I understand that, but I've been doing this job a long time," he said at that time.

A little background on Skandalakis: He served as a district attorney in Coweta County for 25 years, prosecuting many capital murder cases.

He now leads the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia - a state-funded agency that trains prosecutors and police.

He told 11Alive that his philosophy of approaching each case is simple.

"As long as you're transparent about it and share your findings with the public and with the press, people will understand," he said. "They may not necessarily agree with you, but they'll understand."

While Skandalakis has never worked in the Fulton County’s District Attorney's Office, he grew up just a few miles away from its downtown building.

His late parents were immigrants. His mom was born in New York but grew up in Greece. She arrived in 1938, with her future husband arriving about 13 years later. They lived in a home outside of what is now considered Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood. His father ran a convenience store on Edgewood Avenue.

"I remember being around Little Five Points, living on Highland Avenue and walking down to the stores,” Skandalakis said.

A survey of Skandalakis' office in Morrow shows he’s a proud “triple dawg.” He earned his bachelor's, Master and law degrees from the University of Georgia. 

At the outset of taking the case, he described himself as a "fresh pair of eyes" who would "look at the case from the beginning to end."

   

Before You Leave, Check This Out