Friends and colleagues of the Griffin Municipal Court judge who apparently took his own life this week are trying to cope with his sudden loss.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman announced Thursday that preliminary results suggested Judge William G. Johnston, 53, fatally shot himself between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, when he was found dead in his vehicle.

Griffin City Manager Kenny Smith said the city was “deeply saddened” by Johnston's death. Johnston, he said, had presided over the city's weekly municipal court for the past seven years, “treating everyone with fairness and compassion.”

“We are trying to get over the shock,” he added.

Smith said the city's associate judges will handle municipal court duties until a new judge is appointed.

In addition to his duties as a municipal court judge, Johnston was a partner at the Griffin firm of Johnston & Owen. Since 2009, he also had served as general counsel for the 67-year-old state Peace Officers Annuity and Benefit Fund, a supplemental voluntary retirement plan for the state's law enforcement community.

Fund director Robert Carter said Thursday that Johnston was “a vital part” of the organization's board meetings. “The board leaned on him for legal and political expertise,” he said.

“We actually had a board meeting yesterday [Wednesday],” he said at which Johnston was scheduled to make a monthly report. “We still can't get our heads wrapped around this,” Carter said. “Every time I close my eyes, I still see Bill's face in front of us. He always had a great smile. He was so outgoing; he cared for people immensely.”

One of Johnston's most recent cases was his representation of Spalding County's Superior and State Court clerk, Marcia Norris, during an investigation by the Georgia Attorney General that led to her suspension from office last December. The investigation was initiated by Spalding County's solicitor general in a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal last summer.

With Norris facing allegations that she had failed to fulfill her duties as clerk of both courts, Johnston carved out a settlement in which Norris vehemently denied all the allegations but agreed to retire if the investigations were dismissed and no civil or criminal proceedings were initiated.

According to the GBI, Johnston left his home at about 6:20 p.m. Monday, telling his family he was going to meet a client in Lamar County. He never returned. The following morning, family members contacted police.

“The Griffin Police Department began making inquiries as to Judge Johnston's whereabouts and contacted the GBI to assist at approximately 5:05 p.m. Shortly thereafter, the Spalding County Sheriff's Office contacted the Police Department and stated that Judge Johnston had been located in the vicinity of Jewel Drive and Pearl Circle in Spalding County,” the GBI said. “He was discovered by two EMC workers in his personal vehicle.”