James Spear is a native of Georgia and has a law enforcement career history of 12 years within the city of Atlanta and Fulton County jurisdictions. Before joining the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, James spent 7 years with the Atlanta Police Department. During his tenure at APD James was a part of the Zone 1 Field Investigation Team, TFO (Tactical Field Operator/Active Shooter-Terrorist Response Unit and the Riot Control Team). For a portion of his time on the FIT Unit, James was appointed the role of Senior Leader in which the unit specialized in high-risk arrests, undercover operations involving narcotics, firearms, robberies, burglaries, homicides, prostitution and wanted persons. During his two-year stint in the TFO Program, James trained with the Atlanta Police SWAT Team twice a month as part of the unit’s training protocol on Advanced Riflery/Weapons Tactics, Explosive Device/Suspicious Package Response and Para-Military Counterattack Strategies.

James joined the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in February of 2018, where he spent time in the Non-Complex Unit, Trial Division, Special Victims Division, Major Case Division, and the SAKI/SVU Cold Case Unit. Since joining the office, some of the awards he has earned are the “SVU Investigator of the Year Award” in 2018 and the “Pinnacle Award” in 2021. James previously earned his B.S. in Marketing and has also spent time studying his Master’s in Business Administration with a focus in Public Safety. James enjoys family cookouts, working with his FCDA Team and competitive activities as he is a former Division I Collegiate Baseball Player and Graduate Assistant Pitching Coach.