STAFF REPORTS :::

According to Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, a Thursday night disturbance at Ponderosa Mobile Home Park located at 1578 Patterson Road resulted in the arrest of 34-year-old McCormick Randell.

Beam reported deputies received a report of the disturbance at 8:34 p.m and their investigation revealed a dispute had occurred between Randell and juvenile female.

Authorities say the juvenile female’s father went to the aid of his daughter and as a result, was attacked by Randell.

Randell, who resides Lot 33 in the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park, was arrested and transported to the Spalding County Jail. He has been charged with two counts of simple batter, one count of third degree cruelty to children and one count of disorderly conduct.

Randell’s bail has been set at $2,764.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

After confirming the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office did not obtain a search warrant prior to seizing, searching and obtaining pornographic photographs and text messages from a cell phone belonging to David Gibson, formerly the captain of the SCSO Uniform Patrol Division, The Grip has learned of additional activities surrounding the obtaining of a temporary restraining order (TRO) that had kept sealed the Gibson Internal Affairs (IA) investigative report. Additionally, there is an allegation that involvement with that cell phone may have played a role in the effort to seal the Gibson report.

Top SCSO officials including Sheriff Wendell Beam and Capt. Tony Ranieri, who heads the Criminal Investigation Division, have repeatedly stated the Sheriff’s Office was not, nor were they individually, involved in the petition for declaratory judgment – the legal action filed in Superior Court by Ruby King, Beam’s secretary, that was the basis of the TRO – but information obtained through the submission of numerous Open Records requests has cast doubts on those denials.

The IA report was finalized May 19 by Administrative Lt. Ronald Brainard, of the Houston County She rriff’s Office, the agency that conducted the investigation at the request of the SCSO.

It remained in the hands of law enforcement officials until an Open Records request was submitted June 5 by Melanie Bowen, an SCSO employee. That request was honored June 10 with the release of the report.

On June 11, two additional Open Records requests were submitted for the same report, one by local resident, Will Sanders and the second by Tami Riggins, like Bowen, an employee of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office.

Although the report had been disseminated to Bowen only one day prior, neither Sanders nor Riggins received the report in response to their requests. However, The Grip has learned those Open Records requests were the catalyst for much activity taking place behind the scenes.

Cell phone records indicate that later on the afternoon of June 11, Ranieri placed a phone call to the office of Johnnie Caldwell Jr., the Thomaston attorney who would later file the petition for declaratory judgment seeking the temporary restraining order.

Placed to Caldwell’s cell phone at 4:47 p.m., the approximately four-minute long call was immediately followed by a phone call to the Sheriff’s Office.

During that call, Ranieri spoke to Karen Law, who had been Gibson’s secretary prior to his retirement in lieu of termination. Law is reportedly also the person who removed Gibson’s personal cell phone from his office while he attended an Oct. 2014 staff meeting.

During their conversation, after Ranieri confirmed that Amy Martin, the SCSO records clerk, had a copy of the Open Records request submitted by Sanders earlier that day, he told Law to fax a copy to Caldwell’s office.

“If you don’t mind addressing the cover sheet to Johnnie Caldwell, fax that request to him,” he instructed.

Law said she would do so and Ranieri continued, “Now, I’m going to need one of y’all – whoever wants to do this – has got to call. He’s (Caldwell) got to use at least one of y’all right now in order to get the uh, get it before the court, so whoever wishes to do this right off the bat, let me know in the morning so that I can call Judge Caldwell and tell him that you or whoever is gonna do it because he has to use one of y’all as the complainant, actually as the plaintiff in order to start the process. Then he said we can bring the rest of them in.”

Law confirms the information she is to fax to Caldwell, and once again says she will fax it as requested.

“Oh, Okay. All right, I’ll fax it to him right now,” Law said.

Ranieri continued, “And then y’all figure out who’s gonna be your voice, at least for in the morning anyway.”

Law responded, “All right. All right. I’ll do it,” and Ranieri concludes the call by telling Law, “Well, get it rolling.”

Records received from Spalding County also indicate County Attorney Jim Fortune was actively working on the matter of the Gibson report. Fortune later billed for time he spent researching sealing the record on the same day Sanders and Riggins submitted their Open Records requests.

Fortune’s June invoice included two related line item charges for June 11 – “Call requestor of Open Records to discuss disclosure,” and “Research requestor’s ability to seal Open Records disclosed.”

At that time, Bowen was the only person to whom the record had been disclosed.

On June 12, Fortune charged Spalding County for a “telephone conference with Melanie Bowen regarding sealing Gibson report” and for a telephone conference with Jim Grubiak, lead legal counsel at Association County Commissioners Georgia, “regarding sealing records.”

The morning of June 12 is also when SCSO Records Clerk Martin emailed Johnnie Caldwell, providing him with King’s name and contact information and a copy of Sanders’ Open Records request.

Only 37 minutes after Martin sent that email, Caldwell called King and the two discussed options for sealing the Gibson investigative report.

During Caldwell and King’s conversation, King attempted, but was unsuccessful, in an attempt to convince another female SCSO employee to serve as the petitioner in the legal action against the Sheriff’s Office and Beam. King then told Caldwell he could use her for that purpose. (For a transcript of that phone call, please visit http://www.the-grip.net.)

Meanwhile, also on June 12, Riggins placed a phone call to the county attorney’s office and spoke with Jim Fortune to question why her Open Records request was being denied.

According to Riggins, Records Clerk Martin informed her the information requested – the Gibson investigative report – would not be released based on the petition for declaratory judgment, but that legal action had not yet been filed.

“I put in a request – an ORR – for the internal investigation on Capt. Gibson. I filed that yesterday. The Open Records custodian (Martin) here just came in and told me that they’re not releasing it because they’ve sent it to Johnnie Caldwell, because he was supposed to be doing a petition to get the names redacted. Now, that’s (the report) already gone out once because another person here at the department already has a copy of it, so I’m a little confused,” Riggins said to Fortune, later asking. “Is it an open record or is it not an open record?”

After Fortune asked Riggins who she had spoken to, she said, “Amy Martin just came in and told me that they weren’t releasing it, because mine’s actually a second. They had another person request it yesterday and then I put my request in yesterday, as well, and now they’re telling me I can’t have it.”

Fortune told Riggins he would check into the matter, saying, “Who hired…okay, I’ll call Amy.”

Riggins responded, “Well, that’s what I asked Amy. I said, well who has retained Johnnie Caldwell? And she said, well no one to my knowledge. No one’s retained an attorney, so…”

However, that same day’s conversation between Caldwell and King made clear that someone had previously arranged for Caldwell to handle the legal issue, as Caldwell had prior knowledge of the issue and told Beam’s secretary he would be providing his legal services in the matter pro bono – at no charge to her – to help the department and some of the people there.

The following business day, Monday, June 15, Caldwell filed the petition for declaratory judgment using King as the petitioner and obtained a temporary restraining order from Superior Court Judge Mac Crawford.

The petition, which King signed under oath, stated in part, “In May of 2015, a complaint of sexual harassment and hostile work environment was lodged against Captain David Gibson, an employee of Respondent Beam. The complaint alleged that Gibson had made sexually explicit statements to certain female employees, to include petitioner, of Respondent Beam.”

However, King’s sworn petition differed from her statement to Brainard, the investigator who conducted the Internal Affairs investigation.

In Brainard’s report, he cited his interview with King and stated, “King substantiated that Captain Gibson is unprofessional in the manner that he talked to employees; that he did use profanity to anyone, that he did make sexual comments or innuendos, but did not really direct them towards her. She opined that was because she would not stand for it and because of her position working directly for the Sheriff.”

Despite that discrepancy, Beam’s legal response, which he also signed under oath, agreed with King’s petition.

Beam’s response was filed by County Attorney Fortune following a conversation between Fortune and King.

On the morning of June 15, only one hour after Caldwell filed King’s petition, Fortune called the Sheriff’s Office to speak with Beam. The call was transferred to King, who said the Sheriff was out of the office, and she would have him call Fortune upon his return.

The following is a transcript of the conversation that ensued between Fortune and King.

Fortune: Would you? This deals with this business with Capt. Gibson and the declaratory judgment action.

King: Yeah, where Judge Caldwell came by there and talked to uh, I think he talked to, was it Dallas?

Fortune: Bill Dallas, yeah. (Bill Dallas is an attorney in Fortune’s law firm.) Let me ask you a question. I’m assuming that Wendell doesn’t have a problem with us agreeing with Johnnie and going along with him.

King: No, no, no. He doesn’t have a problem at all.

Fortune: Good. I just wanted to make sure. I don’t need to speak to Wendell then.

King: Okay. Now actually, I’m the petitioner of it, so…

Fortune: Oh. Oh, hey Ruby. Well, how are you?

King: (laughter) I’m good. Thank you.

Fortune: I didn’t know. Well, great. Okay. Super. I’m gonna call Johnnie. Do you know where Johnnie is?

King: He was supposed to be on his way to Thomaston to speak Judge Crawford.

Fortune then asks King for Caldwell’s cell phone number, which she provides him and they end the call.

Caldwell was later asked about the disparity in King’s petition and statement to Brainard, and whether it was his contention that King had been sexually harassed by Gibson.

“The petition would have to speak for itself. I can’t tell you about conversations I’ve had with my client,” Caldwell responded.

Asked if he had engaged in discussion with anyone else from the Sheriff’s Office by whom he was not retained as an attorney, Caldwell said, “I can’t tell you that, ma’am. I can’t tell you that. That’s having to do with my work process in representing Miss King.”

He also responded to questions regarding his voluntary dismissal of the temporary restraining order, citing a separate Open Records request submitted to Spalding County by The Grip.

“It was my understanding that there’d been a new Open Records request filed with the county commissioners and they had released it. That was my information. Well, if it’s already out there, then it’s out there, you know?” he said, later adding, “The only reason I dismissed it, as I told you, was because I understood it had already been released, so it’s foolish to keep something not released when it’s already been released. That’s foolishness.”

This was Caldwell’s response despite having been informed during his first conversation with King that the Sheriff’s Office had already released the report he was now seeking to have sealed.

During that initial call, King told Caldwell, “We had one person, which was actually Melanie (Bowen), who was one of the people that was interviewed, she actually requested a copy of it, and they went ahead and had given her a copy because she was involved in it and we didn’t fear her.”

Caldwell responded strongly at the end of The Grip’s interview, stating, “I’m asking you now, what’s the big deal about this? It’s like there’s some big conspiracy with somebody and I’m not aware of it.”

The Grip later attempted to reach Caldwell to question him about the fact that he had full knowledge that the Gibson report had already been released prior to his obtaining the temporary restraining order, but he did not return calls seeking comment.

During a later conversation with Ranieri, The Grip obtained information alleging King was strongly motivated to have the Gibson investigative record sealed, and that her motivation was linked to her involvement with Gibson’s personal burner phone.

The Grip has also learned it was from that phone that graphic pornographic photographs and text messages had been retrieved without a search warrant.

During the Internal Affairs investigation against himself, Gibson claimed he received a text message after this phone was taken from his office that said, “Resign, retire or be divorced.”

In a later interview about the restraining order, Ranieri said, “Yeah, and I know everybody’s trying to attach it back that the Sheriff wanted it sealed. He’s not the one that wanted it sealed. Ruby’s the one that wanted it sealed. She was very upset when we started getting Open Records requests on this, and you know, she had reason to, you know, because of the pictures in the phone. I don’t know if you’re aware of that or not, but you should have read that in the report.”

The Grip responded by askng, “Yeah, that she had seen the pictures in the phone?”

Ranieri replied, “She’s (King) the one that took pictures, er, the phone, made the pictures and she’s also the one that supposedly sent the phone to I believe Mrs. Gibson or Capt. Gibson’s daughter…..that sh*t back in December wound up getting sent to Gibson’s daughter. She (King) had a lot of reasons that she didn’t want it (the report) out there.”

Beam steadfastly denies any involvement with the petition that sealed the Gibson investigative report, most recently stating, “I have not tried to cover this up. I will not try to cover anything up at the Sheriff’s Office. We will do things fairly and according to the law.”

Hermon Judon Jackson, of McDonough, has been charged with and Aug. 16, armed robbery in Spading County.

STAFF REPORTS :::

According to Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, 22-year-old Hermon Judon Jackson, of 2808 Sable Chase Blvd., McDonough, has been charged with the Aug. 16, 2015, armed robbery of the Comfort Inn and Suites located at 1905 North Expressway.

Jackson faces an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Jackson is currently being held in the Newton County Jail on armed robbery charges in that jurisdiction.

Authorities say Jackson is also facing an armed robbery charge in Henry County.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The Grip has learned that David Gibson, formerly the captain over the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division, has been arrested by the GBI.

Gibson on May 21 retired in lieu of termination following an Internal Affairs investigation involving allegations of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, improper use of the Internet, conduct unbecoming an officer and violating his oath of office.

The original investigation was conducted by Lt. Ronald Brainard, of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, at the request of Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, and the findings were turned over to Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard.

Ballard on July 29 announced he had requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conduct a criminal investigation.

At that time, Ballard was asked to define the scope of the pending GBI investigation, and he stated, “I’m asking that David Gibson be investigated and obviously, if in the course of investigating him, they uncover evidence of criminal activity by someone else, I want to know about it.”

The Grip on Tuesday, Sept. 8, spoke with GBI Region 2 Field Office Special Agent in Charge Fred Wimberly who confirmed its investigation remained ongoing.

The Grip has also learned the GBI is, as of Thursday morning, in the midst of executing a search warrant at Gibson’s residence.

In response to Thursday morning phone call seeking comment, Beam replied with a text message that stated, “David Gibson has been arrested by the GBI. He is being booked into our jail at this time. I do not have any further information at this time.”

Publisher’s note – The Grip will continue to follow this breaking news and report new information as it becomes available.

STAFF REPORTS :::

David Gibson, the former captain over the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division, has been arrested by the GBI on nine charges including aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, influencing witnesses, stalking, public indecency, sexual battery and violation of oath of office.

Gibson on Thursday morning turned himself in to the Spalding County Jail and is now being held in the Clayton County Jail.

The request for the GBI investigation came from Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard after his office received an Internal Affairs report alleging Gibson had assaulted employees of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office.

Additional victims who were not part of the Internal Affairs inquiry came forward and reported additional allegations of misconduct and criminal activity against Gibson.

The findings of the GBI investigation were presented to Ballard and criminal warrants for his arrest were obtained.

The investigation is ongoing and the full findings will be turned over to Ballard when completed.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The Grip has now learned that David Gibson, formerly the captain of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division, has faced a judge for his first appearance hearing and bond was denied.

During the first appearance hearing, Gibson was advised of his rights and of the charges brought against him by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Gibson is facing charges of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, influencing witnesses, stalking, public indecency, sexual battery, simple battery and violation of his oath of office.

Publisher’s note – The Grip will continue to follow this developing story and report updates as additional information becomes available.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

Local law enforcement and school officials say they are aware of social media discussions regarding threats of violence tomorrow against school children and teachers, but they have received no information pertaining to any threats in Griffin-Spalding County.

According to Judy Parker, executive director of the Griffin-Spalding County School System’s Communications and Partnership Department.

“We have talked with both the police chief and the sheriff and they are not aware of any direct threat for Spalding County or for any of our schools or Griffin. As always, we’ll be very vigilant. We already keep our doors locked during the day and have safety protocols for people entering the buildings, and I believe both of them intend to have more officers visible in school neighborhoods tomorrow.”

Parker said she is uncertain where the concerns originated, but said there is no indication any local student or school is at risk.

“Well, we don’t know where they got it. We have no idea,” she said. “We’ve done all our research with our sources and we aren’t sure where they’re getting it except from each other. We just don’t have any idea.”

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The arrest warrants obtained by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation against David Gibson, formerly the captain of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division, allege criminal wrongdoing dating back as early as 2008.

Gibson was arrested by the GBI Sept. 10, when he turned himself in to the Spalding County Jail in response to ten charges – aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, sexual battery, influencing a witness, stalking, two counts of simple battery, public indecency and violation of oath of office.

The arrest warrants, which were taken Sept. 9, by GBI Special Agent Jared Coleman, outline the basic allegations associated with each charge. Altogether, the GBI arrest warrants state a number of the incidents occurred at the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, and identifies five alleged victims, one of whom is a civilian with no association to the Sheriff’s Office.

The aggravated assault warrant alleges that in 2013, Gibson pulled a woman “into a headlock during the course of a verbal altercation and physically held said victim against her will. The accused then drew his department issued taser and conducted a discharge of the weapon which is likely to cause serious bodily injury to the victim.”

Gibson also faces a charge of simple battery in connection with the aggravated assault, with the GBI alleging he also struck the female prior to placing her in a headlock. The second count of simple assault Gibson faces is related to a 2015 incident in which the GBI alleges he “did strike the victim…with an open hand across the back of the victim’s head causing the victim’s head to jolt forward.”

That arrest warrant also states, “Said act was reported by the victim and corroborated by a third party witness to such act.”

The warrants for aggravated sexual battery involved two female Sheriff’s Office employees and describe the physical contact Gibson had “without the consent of the victim(s).”

One of those S.C.S.O employees is identified as the alleged victim in two additional warrants – one for sexual battery and the other for public indecency. Contained within those warrants is information on physical contact Gibson allegedly had without the victim’s consent and describes a sex act Gibson allegedly performed on himself as he made the female watch. Those incidents are said to have occurred between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2013.

The second aggravated sexual battery warrant alleges Gibson in 2012 made sexual contact with a second S.O. employee without her consent.

The warrant for Gibson’s arrest on one count of influencing witnesses pertains to incidents that occurred between 2008 and 2012 and involves the alleged victim without connection to the S.O.

It states, “The accused did hinder, delay and prevent the victim…from reporting illegal sexual activity against the accused through threats of physical violence against the victim should she report the accused’s [sic] illegal acts to the proper authorities.”

Coleman also alleges “the accused did willfully and intentionally violate the terms of his oath of office as prescribed by law” between the dates of Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2015.

A first appearance hearing was conducted Sept. 10, by Spalding County Magistrate Court, and Gibson was no bonded.

According to Chief Magistrate Judge Rita Cavanaugh, the two counts of aggravated sexual battery Gibson faces carry a minimum sentence of 25 years imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment, and prohibit magistrate judges from setting bond. Instead, the defendant must face a Superior Court judge.

Gibson’s attorney, Larkin Lee, of Zebulon, on Thursday filed a motion for bond which will be argued Monday before Superior Court Judge Robert M. Crawford.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The Griffin Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred approximately 25 minutes ago in the 200 block of W. Quilly St.

According to Lt. Curtis Keys, of the GPD Uniform Patrol Division, witnesses are reporting that a two men on foot approached and fired multiple shots towards a separate group of approximately four or five men.

At this time, Keys can confirm that at least eight shots were fired, but said because it is so early in the investigation, he anticipates that count will increase.

No injuries were reported and preliminary indications are that no residences were struck by gunfire.

The Grip will continue to follow this story and report additional information as it becomes available.

David Gibson, left, and his criminal defense attorney, Larkin Lee, on Monday appeared for a bond hearing before Judge Robert M. Crawford in Spalding County Superior Court. Photo credit: Sheila Mathews

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

David Gibson, formerly the captain of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division, appeared before Judge Robert M. Crawford in Spalding County Superior Court Monday for a bond hearing on ten charges brought last week by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Gibson, who is charged with aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, influencing witnesses, sexual battery, stalking, two counts of simple battery, public indecency and violation of his oath of office, had bond set in the amount of $130,000 on all counts.

Publisher’s note: The Grip will later post an article with full details of Gibson’s bond hearing.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

A six-year-old girl was critically injured Thursday morning when she was struck by a white Ford Escape.

According to Lt. Curtis Keys, of the Griffin Police Department Uniform Patrol Division, the incident occurred as the child was en route to her bus stop.

“A group of kids were walking southbound on Solomon St. towards their bus stop and a six-year-old little girl darted out in the street and was struck,” he said.

The Escape that struck the young girl was being driven by a 17-year-old girl.

“I believe she was on her way to school, too,” Keys said.

Keys said the children at the bus stop were shaken up by the incident, as was the bus driver.

“Another bus driver had to take over the route because she was so upset,” he said. “The school system was also bringing counselors out to help the other children.”

The investigation is ongoing, but Keys said the driver has not been charged in the incident.

“From witnesses on the scene, it was unavoidable. She ran out from the grassy area and was struck,” he said.

Keys said the little girl’s young brother was present and witnessed the incident, but they were not being accompanied by a parent.

Griffin Fire-Rescue personnel responded to the scene and established a landing zone. The child was subsequently air lifted to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta.

At approximately 9:45 a.m., Keys made  contact with the little girl’s father who stated she is in critical but stable condition with multiple injuries.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The six-year-old little girl who was stuck by a Ford Escape early Thursday morning remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Egleston Children’s Hospital, but she is expected to survive her injuries.

According to Lt. Curtis Keys, of the Griffin Police Department Uniform Patrol Division, the girl’s father reports her injuries are thought to be non-life threatening.

“She has bruises on her spine, bruises on her liver, nothing broken, a little small, small bleeding on the brain, but not enough that the doctor is really concerned that he ought to do surgery, so they’ll just keep her in and monitor her. The doctor said he’s 95 percent she’ll recover fully,” Keys said as he reported information from her father. “I just got off the phone with her dad; he just called me back.”

The 17-year-old girl who was driving the Ford Escape, also en route to school at the time of the collision, will not be charged in the incident.

GPD Cpl Bryan Jones, who is trained in accident reconstruction, investigated the scene and does not believe the driver was at fault.

“He (Jones) went back out there and tested everything, did the measurements and all that,” Keys said.

Jones reported the little girl traveled approximately 15 feet from the point of impact to her final resping point, and he put the driver’s speed at 30 miles per hour. The location where the incident occurred has a posted speed limit 35 mile per hour.

Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

Spalding County Commissioner Gwen Flowers-Taylor on Thursday addressed her fellow commissioners and other county officials, expressing her concerns about the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office’s responses to Open Records requests in the David Gibson investigation.

Flowers-Taylor acknowledged that as a constitutional officer, Sheriff Wendell Beam has the authority to hire and fire at will, but she is concerned about media reports that have raised questions regarding his employees’ adherence to Georgia’s Open Records Act.

“He can do what he wants based on what he chooses to do, however, whenever a suit comes from any employee outside or inside, it is always made to the Spalding County Board of Commissioners. We don’t have any control over that, but in the course of action, we end up getting the blame, and my concern with that is there have been recorded conversations not only between Sheriff’s Department employees, but our staff – our legal representative, as well – that indicate that there was a violation of the Sunshine Act in that some of the records were withheld, and this evidence is, like, recorded in phone calls,” Flowers-Taylor said. “So, my concern is this. I understand that the Sheriff’s Office is responsible for their stuff, but if there is a violation of the Sunshine Law, then that means it’s going to end up at the Attorney General’s Office, and if there is a violation, who will be blamed for it? The Spalding County Board of Commissioners.”

She went on to say the Board of Commissioners is not aware of what happens at the SCSO, but she is concerned that “evidence” – telephone conversations recorded there, may indicate the law has been broken, and she feels an investigation of the Sheriff’s Office may be needed.

“We don’t have any clue what’s going on out there, so. It was enough that the Sheriff’s Office felt like it had to get an outside person to investigate that particular officer, so my concern now is if there is evidence that’s there – if there is a question that they violated the Sunshine Law – we need to be trying to get on top of it because at the end of the day when it all starts to go bad, it’s gonna be pointed at us as a board,” she said. “I mean, I know you don’t have access to that information, (County Manager) William (Wilson), but I’m telling you what I feel is something we really need to look at addressing whether it’s asking for an independent investigation to see if in fact that has happened, which I think that the evidence is there because people have requested Open Records and have found that there are these conversations there where employees of the Sheriff’s Department have discussed attempts to keep those medical, not medical records, that investigative record, from whoever it was that was requesting them. In fact, other conversations where members, staff of the Sheriff’s Department spoke with Judge Caldwell and were prompted not to give this information. So, if that information is that easy to be obtained, if we already got five people suing the Sheriff’s Office, what’s to make us not get charges for violating the Sunshine Law. So, I just think we need to cover our butts. That’s basically what I’m saying. As a Board of Commissioners, we need to know whether or not that happened, and I don’t feel like we need to ask the Sheriff’s Department to do that investigation because the Sheriff didn’t even feel like his own department could do that investigation.”

Flowers-Taylor then referenced the sentiment expressed earlier by another commissioner, and reiterated she does not want the situation to result in problems for the BoC.

“And as one of the commissioners spoke earlier, I think this whole thing is gonna get worse before it gets better, and I just don’t wanna see it dumped in our laps because we don’t know anything about this whole thing. We heard about it in a newspaper probably about when you heard about it, so, that’s my concern. I know this is hitting you in the face and you probably don’t have any answers, but I think we really need to look at what we can do to CYA,” she said.

None of the remaining four commissioners – Rita Johnson, Bart Miller, Raymond Ray or Don Hawbaker – commented on the issue.

Spalding County Manager William Wilson responded to Flowers-Taylor by stating, “I’ll speak with the county attorney.”

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

Cpl. Chad Moxon, of the Griffin Police Department Uniform Patrol Division, was on Monday, Sept. 21 arrested by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office on charges of DUI and failure to maintain a lane.

According to Chief Steve Heaton, Moxon has since voluntarily resigned from the GPD.

“I was notified Tuesday morning through our staff that we had an officer who’d been arrested by Pike County. I was contacted by (Pike County) Sheriff Thomas later Tuesday morning to advise me that they had arrested one of our officers,” Heaton said. “We immediately placed him on administrative leave and opened an internal investigation.”

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office reported Moxon was initially reported to authorities for speeding.

“I was told he was driving his motorcycle between 95 and 100 miles an hour,” Heaton said. “Motorists had called the Sheriff’s Office complaining there was someone driving a motorcycle at a high rate of speed. Pike County deputies began searching for the vehicle and actually, I believe sat up at a location where they believed the motorcycle might be heading. When they observed the motorcycle, they pulled it over and found that the driver appeared to be intoxicated, and as a result of their investigation, they made an arrest. It was later determined that it was a Griffin police officer.”

Heaton said Moxon did inform Pike County S.O personnel that he, too, was a law enforcement officer, but it was not done as a means of requesting preferential treatment.

“For some background on it, I was told that Chad did not offer up that he was a law enforcement officer right away, so it wasn’t one of those things where he tried to get out of it or try to get favor,” he explained. “Matter of fact, the deputy that stopped him, or was there, said they found out he was a law enforcement officer when he told them that he was armed, and they asked why and he said he’s a law enforcement officer. They asked where, and that’s how that went.”

After learning of Moxon’s arrest, less than 45 minutes passed before Heaton instructed Lt. Darrel Dix to initiate an Internal Affairs investigation.

“Right after that, I was told by Lt. Dix that he had contacted Officer Moxon to begin the internal – this was all Tuesday morning – and Officer Moxon indicated that he was going to resign, and he did. He turned his stuff in Tuesday – all his equipment – and we received his letter of resignation Wednesday that was effective the day before,” Heaton said.

Although he was witnessed driving at a very high rate of speed, Maj. David Neal, of the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, said Moxon was not cited for speeding because the Uniform Patrol deputy did not clock him on radar. Neal said Moxon registered a .108 on his breathalyzer test.

The GPD has reported to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council that Moxon resigned while under investigation.

Phone calls from the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office indicate numerous employees were involved in efforts to prevent the release of the David Gibson Internal Affairs investigative file. Sheriff Wendell Beam previously told The Grip he only withheld the record once a temporary restraining order had been issued by Judge Robert M. Crawford, but The Grip has learned Beam’s office refused to release the information prior to the issuance of that court order.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

“The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions. The General Assembly further finds and declares that there is a strong presumption that public records should be made available for public inspection without delay.”

Georgia Open Records Act – OCGA 50-18-70(a)

Despite multiple assertions by Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam stating his office was not involved in any cover up regarding the release of the David Gibson Internal Affairs investigative file, The Grip has obtained information indicating numerous employees of his office coordinated the efforts to obtain that temporary restraining order (TRO), and furthermore, refused to release the Gibson report prior to legal action being filed in Superior Court.

Beam’s secretary, Ruby King, on Monday, June 15, filed a petition for declaratory judgment in Spalding County Superior Court, and Beam has repeatedly stated King took that action not as an employee of the Sheriff’s Office, but in her individual capacity. However, recorded phone calls dated June 12 demonstrate numerous S.O. employees were involved in the process that was coordinated at the Sheriff’s Office.

The calls strongly focus on Tami Riggins, an employee of the Sheriff’s Office who on Thursday, June 11, submitted an Open Records request for the Gibson file.

The Grip previously documented a June 12 phone call Riggins placed to Spalding County Attorney Jim Fortune during which Riggins stated SCSO Record Clerk Amy Martin was refusing to release the report, citing pending legal action that was to be undertaken by Thomaston attorney and former Superior Court judge Johnnie Caldwell.

The Grip has now obtained recordings of three phone calls placed after Riggins phoned Fortune.

In the first call, Martin contacts Fortune, and the county attorney references a previous conversation he had that day with Capt. Ron Buchanan, administrator of the Spalding County Jail.

Fortune: I talked to Ron and found out. I got a call from Tami Riggins who’s telling me they weren’t handing out any more of the Gibson file because Johnnie Caldwell was gonna be trying to get it sealed, and I didn’t now anything about that, but I’ve talked to Ron and I’ve told him if Johnnie can get a temporary restraining order, that’s great, but if Johnnie doesn’t, we’ve got to turn these records over, you know, in a timely fashion.

Martin: Right.

Fortune: One thing, though. Has Tami Riggins also filed an Open Records request?

Martin: Right.

Fortune: Okay. All right, well, that’s fine. Just, you know, kind of mark the day.

Martin: Right.

Fortune: And if we get a TRO, and I hope Johnnie does, great. If he doesn’t, we’re gonna have to turn them over.

Martin: Right. Okay.

Soon after Martin called Fortune, Buchanan called Martin and the following conversation took place.

Buchanan: I just got off the phone with Jim Fortune.

Martin: Right.

Buchanan: If we get an ORR, just email it to him. Do the same as you did yesterday. Respond back to the person that we have received it and that we will, that we’re working on it, and when it’s ready, they’ll be notified.

Martin: Right.

Buchanan: And if we, you don’t need to say anything about Johnnie Caldwell or anything like that because we have to wait for an order from the court.

Martin: Right.

Buchanan: Yeah, there’s no need to tell anybody that we’re, that we, there may be a pending action to try to seal it.

Martin: Right. Right.

Buchanan: If we get it within the time limit, you know, then we’ll hold it. If we don’t, then we’ll have to release it.

Martin: Right. Okay.

Buchanan: But we just don’t need no questions saying, well, why are we saying Johnnie Caldwell’s got something to do with it.

Martin: Right. Right. All rightie.

Buchanan: Just, you know, just respond like we did yesterday and wait.

Martin: Right. Okay.

Buchanan: We’ll wait. I mean, we’re gonna probably gonna give it an extra day anyway, so the three days would be up – the one we got yesterday would be Friday, Monday, Tuesday, probably til Wednesday is when we’ll release. If we got one today, it would be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and probably Thursday.

Martin: Yeah. Okay.

Buchanan: So, but, you know, hopefully if he’s gonna do something, he’ll go ahead and file the paperwork with the court and get a temporary order.

Martin: Right. Right.

Buchanan: And that will seal it until he makes a decision.

Martin: Right.

Buchanan: But, I mean, that’s just all up to the people that’s contacting their attorney to do it.

Martin: Yeah.

Buchanan: I mean, that really, it’s not our concern. Our concern is just that we’re receiving it and we will comply with the Open Records Act.

Martin: Right.

Buchanan: Until we, you know, are notified not to.

Martin: All right. Thank you sir.

Although the Open Records Act states information should be released “without delay,” it does allow up to three business days for information to be prepared. However, at the time these conversations took place, the Internal Affairs investigative report in question had already reviewed, prepared and released to Melanie Bowen, also an employee of the Sheriff’s Office. Because of that, the only thing required to release the record to subsequent requestors was to make a copy of the prepared report.

Buchanan’s conversation with Martin indicates that not only was the Sheriff’s Office not going to comply with Open Records requests without delay, it was determined the information requested would not be turned over within the maximum three day window.

Following Buchanan and Martin’s phone call, the following telephone conversation took place between Capt. Tony Ranieri, head of the SCSO Criminal Investigation Division, and Martin.

Ranieir: Hey. This is Capt. Ranieri.

Martin: Hey.

Ranieri: Are you having a good day?

Martin: No.

Ranieri: Okay. Well, just chill out with it. Sgt. Brown just called and told me what’s going on. Have you talked to the Sheriff about it?

Martin: No. I mean, I went over there cause I thought Tami knew that Ruby was gonna talk to Johnnie Caldwell. Well, apparently she didn’t.

Ranieri: Yeah.

Martin: So, I told her and where it was at, so she started getting on her computer, looking up Jim Fortunes number, so she had to bring me a thing out of the Open Records book about the three-day rule or whatever. And then she just called me a little while ago and said, “So, what’s the status?”

Cause Buchanan called after he talked to Jim Fortune, and so Karen went over there and told her and then for some reason, she turned around and called me. I guess she just wanted to hear it out of my mouth. So she said, “So, you’re telling me I can’t have it?”

I said, “No, I said but you need to put yourself in our shoes. I said if your name was, you know, involved – if you were involved – and I said apparently, you know, it seems like we’ve got a crazo (sic) that wants it, and I said when they purchase it and get it, I said they can do what they want to with it. I said, you know, I prefer not to have my name splattered all over Facebook and all over Spalding County. I said so, you need to put yourself in our shoes. So, she said, and, you know, I said at this point I’m about tempted, you know, to call the Sheriff, which I haven’t because he’s off the rest of the afternoon and I don’t want to bother him, but she just, you know, said, “Thank you,” and I said, “All right.”

Ranieir: Okay, so that’s where you left it at?

Martin: Right.

Ranieri: Okay, just, yeah, leave it alone. You do exactly what uh, who was it, uh, Johnnie Caldwell…

Martin: Right. I mean, I haven’t spoke to him. I think just Ruby’s spoke to him.

Ranieri: Yeah. Yeah. I gave her all the information. Well, you know, this morning.

Martin: Right. Okay. But I, um, I told her I believe Buchanan said maybe Monday, I guess, if we haven’t got an answer we’d have to go ahead and release it.

Ranieri: Right.

Martin: He said if Johnnie Caldwell was gonna do something, hopefully he’d go on and you know, do his part, you know, today.

Ranieri: Well, yeah, he’s working on it and probably it will go, he’s gonna try to get it before a judge on Monday.

Martin: Yeah.

Ranieri: Well, I apologize that you are dead set in the middle of this.

Martin: (Laughter)

Ranieri: Uh, you know, and I know it’s very frustrating, very upsetting for you. I’ll ease it just a little bit for you. Anybody else that requests this file, you can refer them to me.

Martin: Okay.

Ranieri: Uh, you know, that way, it’s gonna take you out of the middle of it. You are the records clerk, but I am telling you now that it is not to be released and if they have a problem with that, they can come see me.

Martin: All right. Well, I certainly do appreciate that.

Ranieri: Well, and I’m sorry and Sgt. Brown will take care of Tami. I’m not at the office because I’ve gotta come back in tonight, and I just informed her to tell Tami if she finds it in the, if it’s in the desire of her heart that she needs to contact an attorney, she can do that on her own time, but that file is not being released.

Martin: Right.

Ranieri: So, if there’s any more problems with it, you know, please call me and let me know.

Martin: I will.

Ranieri: And again, I’m sorry your dead caught in the middle of this, but hopefully, hopefully Johnnie Caldwell will do what he can do and if not, it’ll be released.

Caldwell was successful in obtaining a temporary restraining order that was in place for approximately two weeks. He later voluntarily dismissed the TRO after The Grip obtained the Internal Affairs investigative report following the submission of an Open Records request for emails from the accounts of Beam, Ranieir and other Sheriff’s Office employees.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The Grip has learned that Griffin Police Department Chief Steve Heaton has submitted to City Manager Kenny Smith his letter of resignation.
Heaton took over the chief of police position April 14, 2014, following the December 2013 restructuring of the GPD that resulted in former chief Frank Strickland’s designation as the city’s public safety director.
Strickland resigned from the city of Griffin July 31, 2015.
The Grip will continue to follow this developing story and report additional information as it becomes available.

Christopher Robert Parnell, age 39, left, and Ronda Swartz, age 45, both of Griffin, have been arrested in Evans County in connection with a burglary. Sheriff Wendell Beam said upon their arrest, the pair was in possession of property that connected them to eight Spalding County burglaries they are now charged with.

STAFF REPORT :::

Christopher Robert Parnell, age 39, of 121 South Honey Bear Drive, and Ronda Swartz, age 45, of 2175 Old Atlanta Road, have each been charged with eight counts of residential burglary.
Parnell was also charged with three counts of theft by deception and Parnell faces one count of that charge.
According to Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, the burglaries occurred during the month of September 2015.
Parnell and Swartz were arrested Sept. 26, by the Evans County Sheriff’s Office for a burglary in Evans County.
Investigators say property recovered from the suspects at that time connect them to the Spalding County burglaries.
Parnell and Swartz are being held in the Bullock County Jail.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

A.J. Hammond, a recruit in training with the Griffin Police Department, has drawn harsh criticism following a tweet he posted during Saturday’s University of Georgia-University of Tennessee football game.
After Nick Chubb, UGA’s star running back, sustained a significant and season-ending knee injury, Hammond tweeted, “I hope that ended his career! #GoVols”
Hammond was immediately inundated with responses from people who not only took offense to the sentiment expressed in his tweet, but that his social media profile indicated his career in law enforcement.
Social media was ablaze Saturday and Sunday with people calling for his termination from the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office. However, Hammond ended his employment with that agency Sept. 25, and he is now employed by the Police Department.
GPD Chief Steve Heaton said he has received six emails regarding Hammond’s tweet, and he is aware of the demands for his termination.
Despite the negative outcry, Heaton has confirmed Hammond will not lose his job as a result of Saturday’s tweet.
“I think that he’s a young guy who got into the middle of a discussion with a Georgia fan on a Twitter account and said some things that were insensitive and I don’t think he anticipated it getting as much attention as it did,” he said. “As soon as I was contacted (Saturday), the lieutenant told me he’d already spoken to him and asked him to take it down, which he did, and the recruit, Hammond, apologized and apologized to us for creating a problem that involved the PD.”
The Chief said one important factor is Hammond did not make the comment in any law enforcement capacity.
“The fact that somebody found out that he’s a police officer, it wasn’t something he put out there on any social media, so nothing he did was in reference to or associated with the Griffin Police Department. His personal views are not the same views as the Griffin Police Department, so they’re not representative of us,” Heaton said. “When you look at the comments, the comments are not profane. I think they’re simply insensitive.”
He also responded to those who have stated Hammond’s tweet indicates he is unfit to serve as a law enforcement officer.
“I disagree with that. It’s an opinion that he had where he thought that he was having a conversation with somebody who’s a Georgia fan and they were bantering back and forth like folks do on social media about their opinions of different teams. He made a comment that he wishes he hadn’t made now, but nonetheless, it was insensitive,” he said. “That does not, in my opinion, what he said does not reflect his ability to be a police officer.”
Heaton also responded to criticism Hammond has faced based on the belief officers should be held to a higher standard. While he does agree with officers being held to a higher standard, he said that does not negate their individual rights.
“Well, the standard applies because they shouldn’t do anything that brings discredit to our police department and in this case, nobody knew because he never represented he represented us, he never indicated he is associated with us and he is entitled to his opinion. And he stated his opinion, nobody else’s. Officers have rights like everybody else. They have the right to exercise their free speech and he certainly dd that,” he said. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – was it insensitive? Yes, it was insensitive, but that does not mean he did anything that would be in violation of our policy or what we think would be acceptable. I mean, do I like it? No, but our folks have a tendency sometimes, like everyone else, to say something someone may not like and that’s what happened in this case. He was asked to take it down and he was counseled, so there is a higher standard and we held it.”
With regard to the sentiment that Hammond should be terminated based on an insensitive statement alone, Heaton said, “So, because you don’t like what I say, that you can have me fired. That’s slaps in the face of free speech, does it not? You’re trying to stop me from having the ability to say what I think because it doesn’t square with what you think. I think the long story short with Austin Hammond is that he made a statement he now knows he shouldn’t have made and he knows that, he immediately took it down and was counseled by no less than two supervisors. He apologized and said he didn’t mean for it to get out of hand. That’s it.”

Agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirm Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam did not request an investigation of David Gibson. Beam has now requested a GBI investigation to determine if there is a leakage of information from within his office.

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has confirmed it is conducting a second investigation involving the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Special Agent in Charge Fred Wimberly, of the GBI Region 2 office in Columbus, Sheriff Wendell Beam requested the investigation Aug. 6.
“We have been requested to take a look at information concerning possible leakage of information from within the Sheriff’s Office,” Wimberly said.
When asked what criminal code violations could be involved, Wimberly said, “It all depends on the circumstances and whether or not there were any laws have been broken, so that’s our determination – trying to determine if there were any laws were broken. You’ve got computer trespass laws, you’ve got invasion of privacy laws, things of that nature.”
GBI Public Affairs Director Scott Dutton provided more information.
“The question was, did we have an investigation second to the Gibson case and what was the purpose of the case? What I found out from looking at the case information and from talking to Fred Wimberly, the agent in charge out there, is yes, they did initiate a case and it’s for computer theft,” he said, explaining that computer theft would apply to a person who uses a computer or computer network with knowledge of such use without authority or intent. “Essentially what’s going on is the Sheriff was concerned that someone was accessing – unauthorized access – to the phone system at the Sheriff’s Office, so they requested the GBI conduct that investigation.”
He later expanded on the specifics of his agency’s investigation.
“From my understanding, it’s the phone system, but you know how data and everything else moves across phone lines, etc., IT departments those type things – it’s a wide kind of a range, umbrella, as it relates to computer theft on phone systems,” Dutton said. “They initiated that one, of course, after the other case that they were working and of course those take a little bit longer because you’ve gotta get your IT specialists and digital forensic people to kind of look at different things, but from talking to Fred (Wimberly), he talks like they’re in the ending stages of it. How long – a time frame – I don’t know what that means, but the next step is when they finish it is just get it back to the DA’s Office…so, they’ll determine if a crime was committed and if so, who’s responsible and what it carries.”
Dutton reiterated Wimberly’s prior statement about the two separate investigations the GBI is currently working involving the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, and said he believes this investigation should be completed soon.
“That case (regarding possible leakage of information) was worked by different case agents and they’re doing that investigation and then they should be finishing up based on what they told me,” he said. “The DA’s Office was involved, or on board, with that actual request, so once they get all their findings together, etcetera, the DA’s Office and Sheriff’s Office will have that information.”
The GBI is also continuing its investigation of David Gibson, formerly the captain of the SCSO Uniform Patrol Division. That investigation began in late July is being conducted at the request of Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard.
As a result of that ongoing criminal investigation, Gibson has been charged with aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, interfering with witnesses, violating his oath of office, two counts of simple battery, sexual battery, indecent exposure and stalking.
Wimberly said the investigation requested by Beam on Aug. 6 is separate from its initial investigation of Gibson.
Beam previously told The Grip his office had requested the GBI conduct an investigation of Gibson, but stated the GBI declined to investigate because no criminal allegations were involved.
Beam specified that Capt. Tony Ranieri, who heads up the SCSO Criminal Investigation Division, placed a phone call to the GBI Region 2 office and spoke with a supervisor to officially request an investigation of Gibson.
Beam stated the call requesting the GBI investigation of Gibson was placed early in the process.
“It would have been soon after we started gathering information on this – probably the first part of May,” Beam said.
Because one of the allegations against Gibson was violation of his oath of office, a felony in Georgia, The Grip contacted Wimberly for clarification regarding Beam’s statement alleging the GBI had declined to investigate.
Wimberly explained there are two supervisors in the Region 2 office – himself and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Chris DeMarco – who could have fielded Beam’s request, but said he had not received that call.
“No, I have not spoken to Tony Ranieri. Chris (DeMarco) may have, but I’ll double check with him to see if that did occur,” Wimberly said.
Wimberly later spoke with DeMarco and reported to The Grip that he also had not receive a call from Ranieri.
Later questioned about these conflicting statements, Beam acknowledged his office had not requested a GBI criminal investigation of Gibson.
“Well, when I talked with Capt. Ranieri about that a little bit further on, he stated he had spoken with one of the agents because this question has come up before in other investigations, and he was just recontacting an agent. I don’t know who he talked with, but he said that is the standard procedure that unless we are pursuing criminal charges that they would not get involved,” Beam said. “I talked with the agent in charge later that you spoke with (Wimberly) and he stated that he had not received a request but that was their standard procedure. So, I was told he had spoken with one of the agents – I don’t know who – just to confirm that it was still their procedure.”
“So, there was not an actual request for the GBI to investigate?” Beam was asked.
“No, no, there was not a formal request because we were just checking for clarification to make sure we were still correct with what we understood their procedure was, and we were informed yes, that is correct. Unless we are pursuing criminal charges, they do not get involved in it,” Beam responded.
When asked why his office did not seek a criminal investigation of Gibson when one of the allegations was a felony, Beam stated, “Yes, it is, but at that time, we were doing an administrative investigation, we were not doing a criminal investigation. We were gathering information at that time on an administrative or management standpoint, not from the criminal aspect. It was never a formal request made to them (the GBI).”

SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::

A fifth employee of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office has served anti-litem notice she intends to sue Sheriff Wendell Beam and David Gibson, formerly the captain of the SCSO Uniform Patrol Division.
Melanie Bowen joins four additional female SCSO employees – Jessica Kelley, Kimberley Barnett, Karen Law and Misty Piper in taking legal action alleging mistreatment in the workplace.
According to Eleanor Attwood, who represents all five women, Bowen’s claim will “assert state law tort claims of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent supervision/retention.”
Attwood also intends to assert federal law claims of gender discrimination.
“Over the past decade, former captain of the Sheriff’s Department, David Gibson, sexually harassed, intimidated and/or physically assaulted my client. Sheriff Beam and former Sheriff Dee Stewart received numerous complaints regarding Gibson’s misconduct, but failed to take corrective action affording Gibson the opportunity to continue his sexual misconduct towards my client,” Attwood wrote. “As a result of misconduct and the Sheriff’s Office failure to take corrective action, my client has suffered emotional distress for which she is entitled to compensatory and punitive damages. Overall, my client has suffered substantial damages because of the actions of the defendants (Beam and Gibson) estimated at $2 million.”
Gibson retired in lieu of termination on May 22 following an administrative Internal Affairs investigation conducted by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
A later criminal investigation conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation resulted in multiple charges against Gibson including aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, interfering with witnesses, violation of oath of office, two counts of simple battery, sexual battery, indecent exposure and stalking.
Beam has stated his office did not conduct an investigation against Gibson sooner because the alleged victims only complained verbally and would not follow through with a formal written complaint to his office.